Second Identity, Third Oculus
by Piccylo
Summary: Not AU. Kushami(Lunch) finally found Tenshinhan after chasing after him all that time. Now, she's living with him while he's training, but how easy is it to get his three eyes to avert from his training, especially when she can sneeze at any moment?
1. Someone to Occupy the Guestroom

Disclaimer: I don't own DB or DBZ, and, if I owned GT, I'd shoot myself. I'm unsure of the language/graphic nature of this fic, but I'm supposing to be ready for atleast PG-13. Considering Kushami's attitude, it should be...colorful.  
  
I happen to think Tenshinhan is hot, ok? And Kushami (psycho Lunch) is my 2nd favorite DB character. So, I figured, why not? I'll probably also be making a lot of DB fanfics pretty soon, since I've been watching a lot of Japanese DB lately (woohoo!). Now, prepare for confusion, because although this might be best kept in 3rd person POV, I -really- wanna do it in 1st because I wanna write in Kushami's POV, but I also wanna have Tenshinhan's thoughts in there as well. So, it's going to jump between the two.

* * *

KEY (I wanna color code it or input images, but it probably wouldn't show)-- -  
-=K=- Kushami POV   
-=L=- Lunch POV   
-=T=- Tenshinhan POV  
  
-=K=-  
"Baka sun..." I grumbled. My head was throbbing like I had a Hell of a hangover, but I didn't have a drop last night. No, this came from the stressful actions I've been taking lately without rest. Hijacking a plane and then a train in one night is one thing, but I've been on an all-out manhunt the past month. Well, it's really more like two months, since every time I sneeze, my alter ego takes a break and even goes off course sometimes. But, I finally found him last night. That Tenshinhan thought that he could hide from me, eh?  
Don't get me wrong. I don't want to interfere with his training one bit. Infact, I don't think I would have fallen for him if he wasn't such a dedicated fighter. But I'll be damned if he leaves me out of his life. He's mine, and I'm going to make sure of that. Even if it kills me.  
I heard some swift swings and hits outside my window, sometimes followed by a familiar kiap. I squinted and held my hand over my eyes, trying to block out the rays, to catch a gaze at what was going on. Ten and his little friend Chaozu were training, as I expected. The morning chill might have been hanging in the air, but Ten was sweating regardless. He was obviously putting everything he had into his exercise... with his bare chest glistening with perspiration and... It took me a moment to realise that I was nearly drooling. I scoffed at this and pulled myself out of bed.  
  
-=T=-  
I heard the door open and close as my training for the morning was coming to an end. "Oi! Tenshinhan!" That blonde girl came out, brandishing a firearm as she usually did. "You're a fool if you think that you could leave me behind. But, of course--" She poked the nuzzle to my side. "You're no fool, eh Ten?" She winked at me with a smug grin on her face.  
It was a few moments before I would smirk with her. "Isn't it a bit early for such talk?"  
"Heh. It's never too early. You know me--" She twirled her gun and set it away again. "I'm always rushing to the next thing. I can never wait."  
I sighed and shook my head, the smile still on my face. "You seem to have a lot of patience to me." I proceeded to walk past her back into the house.  
"Oi! What did you mean by that?" she called after me, "Oi!"  
"I'll make breakfast, okay?" Chaozu said as soon as we entered. I nodded. I wasn't much for cuisine when it came down to it, and although Lunch was a rather decent cook, Kushami only knew how to kill with a kitchen knife.  
Said girl was already reclining on the small couch in the loose manner she would sometimes show. When I came into the room myself, she seemed to suddenly remember something and went to grap a rag, with which she proceeded to wipe the sweat from my brow. "You shouldn't have to eat breakfast feeling sticky, y'know?" Her cheeks were already somewhat rosy. I couldn't deny that my own face was becoming more than tepid. She must have noticed, because she wiped some more perspiration from me and retired to a short distance from me.  
I smiled and nodded my thanks to her. I forgot how interesting she was to have around. The others at Kame House said that she never acted so docile (or as close as she's gotten to docile) as she does when she's with me. I felt sort of lucky that someone like her was cutting into her life of thrill-seaking and jewel-thieving to chase after me. I guess I never really had a woman willingly tend to me like that before. Hell, nobody really tended to me like that before.  
"Ne, Tenshinhan?" She gave me a grin. "Do you mind if I stick around while you train? I promise that I wont get in the way or anything."  
I barely thought on it before I answered. "I don't mind at all. You can stay as long as you like."  
  
-=K=-  
Normally, one would think that I'd get bored of just watching a guy exercise all the time, but Tenshinhan didn't seem to do much of anything else the rest of the day than train, and I didn't mind at all. From time to time, I thought that I caught him trying to take a glimpse of me. Whenever this happened, I would smile and go into the house, then try to watch his face from the window to see any disappointment. Hey, I have to make sure that I'm not just imagining this stuff!  
After their training was done for the day, I was already somewhat acquainted with the house. "Do you mind if I sleep in this room?" I guestured towards a door. "It doesn't seem to be occupied."  
"The guestroom? Oh, sure. You can take it," Tenshinhan said.I noticed that he still had some sweat from the training, and grabbed a cloth to dry his forehead, then ahead into my new sleeping quarters after I thanked him.  
I opened my suitcase and looked at the few garments that I actually kept, then felt a mischievous grin curl on my lips when I pulled out the slinky teddy that I bought a few days ago, in case I did find Tenshinhan. It was a dark green with bright orange ribbons, and though it was a little lacy for what I'd normally wear, I felt that it would work pretty well in my situation.  
Then I nearly smacked myself when I remembered that it would be pointless to wear that right now. I'm going to bed, and he probably is too in a moment. Plus, I get embarrassed enough as it is; I can't just put this on and waltz into his room at night. I put it back down and pulled out a long, cerulean slip and set it on the bed before beginning to undress. As I folded up my day garments, the dust that accumulated on them from being around while Tenshinhan trained got stirred up into the air a bit and...  
  


Achoo!  


  
-=L=-  
"Ehhh?" I looked around myself. I was in an unfamiliar room (which wasn't too unusual, I guess) but there weren't any signs that I did anything terribly wrong while I was changed. And, if I did, I must have run way.  
I was in a room alone, and it wasn't anything like Kame House. Apparently, I was trying to change for bed before I sneezed. I was about to pick up the folded blue nightgown when the door opened.  
"Kushami, I--" Almost as soon as Tenshinhan walked in, he bolted right out and shut the door again. "I-I'm so sorry, Lunch! I didn't realise that you were--"  
"That's okay," I said, slipping it over my head, "You can come in now. What did you want to talk about."  
He opened the door again, staring at the floor with his face kinda red. "I'm sorry to bother you. It's nothing really to concern yourself with. I just wanted to--" He looked at me for a moment, then back to the floor. "--well, that is. I wanted to wish you a goodnight."  
"Oh, is that all?" I smiled to him. "Goodnight to you, too."  
He nodded and closed the door again. I giggled a little bit before getting under the covers to sleep. Tenshinhan was a really nice guy, I thought. For some reason, I really liked being around him.  
  
-=T=-  
I found myself leaning (or more like pressed) against the door. "What a time for her to change back!" I mumbled to myself, "Wait a moment... why would it make a difference whether or not she's Lunch or Kushami? Either way, it was an accident. Although, if she was still Kushami, she probably wouldn't be so calm about it. Actually, she'd probably goad me in a teasing manner that I might have done it on purpose, then she'd--"  
I shook my head. No sense in allowing my imagination to go any further than that. Chaozu, of course, was looking at me as if I was doing something beyond his comprehension. Trying to keep him from asking questions, I jumped the gun. "We'll train again tomorrow."  
Chaozu nodded. "Okay, Ten-san."  
I headed off to my own bed. Somehow, I felt more tired then than I did a few minutes ago.

* * *

I actually tend to shy away Romances, since they're generally cookie- cutter, "Character A" admits feelings to "Character B" rubbish. I'll run into one every once in a while that's well written or has an interesting conflict. 


	2. Only a Little Ill

Disclaimer: It's in chapter one. Get used to hearing that.

I used to have an author's note here that spoke of just finishing watching DB, but that was so long ago that it doesn't even mattert anymore. Shows you how much I update my stories! Now, let's take a look at "Tien" and "Launch".

* * *

-L- 

The next day, I asked Tenshinhan if I was staying with him for a while. He seemed a bit confused to this at first, but then told me that I was, and I could do anything I wanted as long as it didn't interfere with his training. So, since he was being so nice to me, I decided to prepare his meals for him. I think that he likes my cooking, which makes me pretty happy.

One day, he came into the main room with a new cut on his arm. When I told him that I'd help treat it, he declined and did it himself. I was a bit confused, but, since I had nothing better to do, I picked up a broom and dustpan and began to clean up instead.

While I was sweeping some dirt up from a corner, I saw a little mouse go by me. I blinked and looked down the way it ran. It went behind the sofa. I crawled towards it and moved it a little, and saw a small hole in the wall. I moved the couch a little more and went behind it myself, then I tried to peer into the little mouse hole. I saw something scurrying about in the darkness. I got up immediately and went for the refrigerator, pulled out a little piece of cheese, and went back to set it before the hole. I sat still and waited until it stuck its little nose and whiskers out to sniff, then come out and begin to nibble on the cheese.

I snatched it up as quickly as I could and giggled. "Naughty little thing! You shouldn't be in Tenshinhan's house. --Ow!" The mouse bit me on my finger and I almost dropped him, but I went over to the window and opened it, then dropped it to the ground outside. "Run along, now. You're not supposed to be in a Human house like that."

It squeaked a little, then sprinted off. I smiled and waved it goodbye.

-T-

Chaozu seemed a little worried about something after training finished for the day. Then he called to my attention the lack of a meal that was usually waiting for us. I looked around the kitchen. "It doesn't look like Lunch did anything in here since she fixed the last meal." I opened the refrigerator door. "We're not low on food, so she can't be shopping. Where is she?"

I went through the house searching for her. She was in the bathroom, well, Kushami was in the bathroom, anyway. She was splashing water her face, which looked tired and paler than usual. I knocked on the slightly ajar door and she looked up to me, then feigned a grin. "Hi, Tenshinhan. I'll be out in a minute. I'm just... just washing up." Kushami grabbed a towel rather ungracefully and dried her face. Then, as she went to go past me, she sneezed. Twice. I only caught a glimpse of Lunch for a brief moment before she changed back and fell backwards.

I managed to catch her. "What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"It's nothing to get worried about. Hey, Chap," she directed towards Chaozu when I released her to stand on her own power, "Do you mind taking care of dinner? I'm going to go take a nap, and I'm not much of a cook anyway," when Chaozu agreed, she nodded and tried to continue in her firm, determined tone, "I'll be up in an hour or so, if you want anything."

She didn't wake up till 3:00 p.m. the next day.

That day was pretty distracting. It wasn't as if Lunch and Kushami got in the way when they-- err, _she _got ill, but it was pretty obvious that she wasn't getting any better. And although Kushami could move around without much of a problem, Lunch couldn't hold herself up at all, especially if she had one of those sneezing fits. Lunch would just crumble to the ground whenever it was over. I guess that those constant transformations took a lot out of her.

It was even worse when Lunch insisted that she should make dinner that night. She sneezed four times, then collapsed onto the kitchen floor before sneezing again.

"Enough is enough!" I said, scooping a weak Kushami into my arms. "You're to go to bed for the rest of the night! I'm taking you to the doctor tomorrow morning."

As I carried her to her room, she protested. "You don't have to take me yourself, Tenshinhan. I have a car. I can drive myself."

I nudged the door open and walked in. "You're hardly in any condition to drive a vehicle, Kushami. Just rest." I sat her down in her bed.

"What the Hell...? You're trying to baby me?" She tried to make her voice as strong as possible, but the image she attempted to convey dissolved when she then came into an attack of coughs. When she raised her hand to cover her mouth, I noticed something.

"What's wrong? Did you cut yourself?" I directed to a dark spot on her forefinger. I gently took her wrist and examined it. "It looks like it's infected."

"Huh?" Kushami looked at it like it was absolutely foreign to her. "I don't know. I don't remember getting pricked or scratched. I've never noticed it before."

"We should probably clean it--"

"Don't worry about it, Tenshinhan!" she pushed out, "I know how to treat an infection. I can do it myself! You just go and do whatever, now." Kushami drug her body to sit upright and reached under the bed, pulling out a white box with a green cross on it. "And, I promise that after I finish cleaning and bandaging it, I'll go to sleep immediately. Okay?"

I was silent for a moment as she began rummaging through the first-aid kit. "All right. Goodnight, Kushami." I left her alone.

As I went back towards the kitchen, Chaozu caught my attention again. "Ten-san, is it really all right to let her go to bed now?"

"What do you mean, Chaozu?"

"She hasn't eaten since the midday-meal yesterday."

I didn't answer for a bit. "We'll just take her to the doctor tomorrow morning and he'll probably give her some medicine to feel better. Then, she'll probably want something to eat."

-K-

I was flying, or I was dreaming that I was flying. I felt like cool air was rushing against me and that I was hundreds of feet above the ground. When I shifted a bit, I noticed that there was something warm around me. For a moment, I thought it was my blanket, but I realized that it wasn't soft and yielding, and that it moved like it was breathing. I opened my eyes and saw blue all around me and clouds whizzing past. I turned my head enough to see Tenshinhan's little dollish friend, flying beside me.

"You're awake, huh?" said a strong voice above me. I looked to see the speaker. Tenshinhan smiled back to me. "I told you that I wasn't going to let you drive yourself to the doctor's."

I grinned. "I thought that you had training to do. I told you that I can take care of myself."

"I bet that you wouldn't have rose in time to go to the doctor, though."

"And how are you so certain of that?"

"We're all ready almost there and you just woke up. Most people would wake up pretty quickly when in the colder atmosphere like this."

"I guess," I muttered in a low degree, "but I must not have noticed when you're keeping me so warm." I didn't really know what I said until I saw his face turn a bit red, which made my own face start to get hot. My temperature rose, and I started coughing vehemently. Apparently, my whole body racked with each cough, because Tenshinhan almost lost his grip on me and struggled to keep it.

"Are you all right?" He managed to have me secure in his arms again.

"Yeah, I'm fine." My voice came out more raspy than I had expected, which certainly didn't reassure him or Chaozu. Tenshinhan's face didn't stay as sure as it did before, and the Chap kept looking at me with an uncertain worry.

When we went into the doctor's office, the nurses kept giggling about Ten and Chap (all, "What a strong, handsome man! I wander what that third eye's for..." and "Oh! He's just like a little china doll!") Ten didn't seem to acknowledge them, and they began to hold off after I kept glaring at them.

-T-

The doctor greeted us when he came into the room (I decided to go in with her to keep her out of trouble). As he did the systematic checks and asked the questions, Kushami seemed irritated that he had to be so personal with her (as she sees it, anyway). When he inquired about if she had gotten bitten by an animal, she shrugged.

"I don't know about that. But I _did _have this nasty place on my finger.." She unwrapped the medical tape and showed the mark. It had gotten a little better since the night before, but there was still evident discoloration.

"Hmm.." The doctor came closer and examined it. "This looked like it was well treated, but what evidence I see of it, if it weren't treated, we might have to go so far as amputating it today."

"_What?!_ Are you telling me that you'd chop off my _trigger finger?!_"She made a low, threatening growl at him before coughing again.

He jumped back a bit, astonished by her backtalk, then adjusted his classes and regained his calm. "Anyway, that will heal as long as you continue treating it. I'll prescribe something for your illness...I'm quite certain that its a precursor to Streptobacillary Fever, which can be quite a bit unpleasant." He took out a pamphlet of notes. "Are you allergic to any drugs or taking anything?"

"No, I'm--" Then she sneezed at a rather inopportune time.

Lunch looked around, seeming rather confused about her surroundings, before bringing her hands to the sides of her face. "Oh no! Did I hurt somebody?"

"Iie... everything's fine," I said with my hands up to gesture that nothing was amiss. "You've just been sick, remember?"

"That's right.. so I'm here for a check up?" She turned to the doctor and bowed politely. "Ohayou Gozaimasu."

The man was still astonished by what he saw and could not think of a thing to say.

Afterwards, he asked Lunch to leave the room to Chouzu and turned to me. "Has she always been that way?"

"I don't know. She never really told me, but she's been that way for atleast several years."

"I see... that is the most amazing case of multiple personalities I've ever seen!" he said, "She can even change her physiognomy. Tell me, does this only occur at a sneeze?"

"Only a sneeze, and for every sneeze."

He nodded, then gave me a paper of an address to an affilliated psychiatrist.

* * *

Ok, Lunch is hard to write. I have to keep in mind that she probably wouldn't have a very big vocabulary and would have a very generalized mood of interpretation (for instance, she wouldn't have said what I just wrote). Kushami and Ten, however, seem to act as if they're more aware of their surroundings and can more easily move from idea to idea. 


	3. How Many Doctors Do I Have to Talk to?

Disclaimer: 'ts in Chapter 1.

I haven't been updating this one since BAW takes up so much of my attention and inspiration hasn't been running rampant with this.

* * *

.-T-.

Lunch was very cooperative about the whole deal with the psychiatrist. Anytime that I told her there was an appointment, she went without a problem and didn't make anything tough for Dr. Pisaiki. But Kushami...

"_Nani?!_ Why should _I_ sit on a couch and talk to some old quack with a piece of paper hanging on the wall that says he can take money for just listening to people talk? It's a waste of my time..."

I rubbed my left temple; after a hard day of training, I just remembered that she had an appointment in two hours, and now I had to convince her to go. "Aren't you concerned about this at all?"

"What? The sneezing?" She stepped back slightly. "You get used to it, you know. It's a little inconvenient at times, but nothing that I can't handle."

"But don't you want to be able to do things without an interference like that? I mean, you'll sneeze at some of the most inopportune times. You know that."

"But it's nothing important... and I've always gotten through fine. There's nothing to worry about... really..."

I sighed and took her by the shoulders softly. "Please go, Kushami."

She avoided my gaze by lowering her head and looking to the side, but I thought for a moment that I saw some red on her cheeks. "Fine. I'll go if that's what you want."

Later, after she had left, Chouzu looked at me with concern. "Are you sure about the psychiatrist, Ten-san?"

I glanced over at him from the fridge, looking for food. "What do you mean? Do you think that he might not be credible?"

"No, it's not that..." he said, "but, if he cures her, what do you think will happen?"

I stopped and closed the door. Suddenly, I wasn't very hungry. "I never thought about it before..."

"Do you think that she'll lose one of her selves?"

.-K-.

_I'm doing this as a favor for Tenshinhan, so I have to go through with it._ That's what I kept telling myself through the whole thing. The doctor asked me questions, furiously took notes on everything that I said, and muttered to himself a lot while I was actually told to say something more than a couple of sentences.

Then he asked that one question that I was hoping that he would avoid. "Can you tell me about your childhood Lun-- I mean... Kushami-san?"

I gave him a glare for a few seconds. "No."

"Oh? And why not?" He scribbled furiously.

I sneered. I knew exactly what he was going to get from this, and I didn't like it. "I don't remember my childhood."

He looked back up at me from his pad with a slightly surprised look on his face, then took those glasses off his nose and took a serious semblance to me. "You don't?"

"No."

"Hmm..." He put his glasses back on and began writing again. "So... whenever you try to think it up, you draw a complete blank?"

"Yes."

He nodded and wrote some more. "What's your earliest memory, Kushami-san?"

I thought for a second. "I'm not sure."

"Well, just go back through steps. You know what I mean by that, right?"

I crossed my arms and went into deep thought. I never thought about it before because it never came up as important. _Before I met Son and Kuririn, I was robbing a train... my heist in Cambodia was before that... I stole Mogok's Rubies before that... but was that before or after I stole the Carmen Lucia Ruby...?_

"Kushami-san?"

"Hmm? What?"

"I see that you're thinking rather diligently. Would you mind telling them out loud while you go through them?"

I growled at him. I wasn't about to tell him the many illegal activities and thefts I've had throughout the years. The only reason that I tolerated him this much was because of Tenshinhan. Regardless, he got the point, and he allowed me to proceed in silence.

But not long after I shook my head. "After so far back, everything starts to blur together. I don't even know how young I was then."

He nodded and wrote some more. "I see... Well, Kushami-san, you may leave, but could I ask you something before you do?"

I was already out of the chair and stretching before he finished that sentence. "What?"

"Do you feel adverse to seeing a neurologist acquaintance of mine and having some CAT scans and MRIs taken?"

My brows lowered and I scowled at him, then I looked away. "Perhaps if someone was with me."

"I don't see the problem with that, but it depends on what the neurologist thinks. Who would you take? That Tenshinhan that you spoke so often of?"

_Did I really talk about him _that _much?_ "I don't know. Maybe."

"Then I'll contact him and ask about it. Take care, Kushami-san."

.-L-.

I stopped going to Dr. Pisaiki's for a while. I was told that all the visits to him were finished, and I'd see him one last time along with one of his colleagues, but not for several months. I wondered how this would all end up while I cleaned up the living room and washed my hands before preparing dinner.

Tenshinhan and Chouzu came in for dinner a little late. I greeted them. "Sorry, but dinner might have gotten a little cold. Do you want me to heat it up for you?"

"No, that's alright," said Tenshinhan, "You do enough around here as it is; I won't ask you to do that."

I shrugged. "I really don't mind one way or the other. Everything's on the table. I made Ton-Katsu and Tanuki Jiru(a/n) for you. Several helpings."

"Really?" Chouzu seemed very happy by what I said, "C'mon, Ten-san."

Tenshinhan scratched his head a bit. "I didn't think that we had any pork left…"

"I went to the market earlier today while you were training. I guess you didn't notice." I smiled and them and went into the kitchen before them.

After dinner, I suddenly found myself tired and went to bed. When I got in, I noticed something on the dresser that I didn't see before. A little box of what looked like medication that you can buy over the counter. I picked it up and looked at it. The name itself looked hard to pronounce, but I'm pretty sure that it was some sort of pill for the sinuses. It was brand new; the plastic on it wasn't even broken.

I scratched my head. "I guess I got this and didn't take any of them. I feel fine, though, so I'll just leave them." I put them back down and got dressed for bed. When I was getting under the covers, I heard a knock on the door.

"Umm, Lunch-san?" I head Tenshinhan's voice, "Are you alright? You retired rather early today…"

"I'm fine, just tired from working all over the house all day. It was a little more dirty than usual."

"Yeah, that…" He stopped for a second. "Anyway, goodnight."

"Goodnight!" I smiled and laid my head on the pillow before pulling the comforter over me.

.-T-.

I entered into the room just as the phone rang. My head snapped towards it. There was hardly if ever anyone that called since I rarely gave anyone the number. I picked it up and awkwardly answered, "Moshi-moshi?"

"Tenshinhan-san," a voice on the other side of the line said, "This is Dr. Pisaiki. I've called to tell you that the appointment with the neurologist has been canceled."

"Canceled? Why?"

"When looking for anything to reference Lunch-san's condition and background, we found previous files from another series of examinations that she's undergone before."

"S-she's been examined before?"

"Yes, but I don't believe she remembers them. Both Lunch and Kushami have no knowledge of their past and have no idea what their earliest memory could be. They're unconsciously blocking it out."

"How old are these files?"

"Many years old. She was just a lass at the time. Her background states that she's officially "Lunch", and she's had the split personality for as long as it could be noticed. The transformation aspect of it didn't occur until after she's undergone several treatments."

I rubbed my forehead around my eye. "Why are you telling _me_ this instead of Lunch?"

"Seeing as only one of the personalities will remember it, the better option seemed to be telling her companion."

_Companion?_ "Alright, but do you know why she's like this? Maybe there's a way to control it more effectively?"

"I'm sorry, but when anyone else tries to use medical intervention, defense factors always complicate it."

I sighed. "But what started it in the first place? Was she born this way?"

"Disassociative Identity Disorder is not inherited. We believe that it has to do with her being an orphan since she was 4 years old."

.-K-.

As soon as I had the chance, I swallowed several of those pills that I bought then went out to do a minor heist before Tenshinhan could finish with his training. I decided to stay out rather late and eat elsewhere since I certainly can't cook dinner for him and Chap, and I don't want Chap making 3 meals instead of two. _I left a note saying that I'll be back by the next morning, so they'll be all right._

I stayed at the restaurant several hours after my meal just ordering drinks from the bar. _It had been a while since I went out by myself like this,_ I thought, _A little time away from the pair is probably helpful. Maybe when the scene gets stuffy, I'll vacation away from them for a few days_. I took a sip from my glass. _I'll run the idea by them tomorrow morning._

I went on another small excursion before going back around 4:00 a.m. I tried to enter as silently as I could, but as I slowly went to my room, feeling around in the darkness, I bumped into what felt like a living brick wall.

"K-Kushami," I heard Tenshinhan's voice say, "You're back?"

"Yeah," I whispered, "Sorry if I woke you. I'm going straight to bed."

"No, I was already awake. I haven't been sleeping well tonight for some reason…"

"Nightmares, eh?"

"No, just…" I could almost see his head turn away in the darkness.

"Well, try to get some sleep. You're going through another day of rough training tomorrow, ne?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, go back to bed!" I turned him around pushed him towards his room.

"Err...hey!"

* * *

(a/n)These are traditional Japanese dishes, both of which contain pork.

It may be a while before another chapter is made. Who knows?


	4. Minor Panic Attacks

Disclaimer: Chapter one.

I started on this chapter immediately, and got it out immediately. Woohoo!

* * *

**.-T-.**

I tried not to think about what the psychiatrist said, but it kept coming through my mind anyway until I found something to replace it. And its replacement wasn't any better. Kushami told me the next day about her idea to leave if things got adverse. She said it like it wouldn't permanent, like a vacation or something, but something seemed very terminal about it.

While I was training, the thought kept sneaking through. _Is she starting to feel uncomfortable here? Maybe pushing her to see those doctors upset her…_ I continued my exercises, trying to delude these thoughts. It didn't work. _Kushami came here following me, but she seems to be getting more and more distant, pushing me away when I try to help her. Before, I thought that she was just trying to keep me from worrying about her, but now, I'm not so sure…_

I had completely stopped my training without realizing it until Chouzu tugged my pant leg and asked what was wrong.

"Nothing, I—" Then I saw Kushami, leaning on the front of the house with her legs crossed and her arms by her sides, watching me.

"You don't mind if I watch, right?" She said.

My face must have been growing red. "Not at all. You can do whatever you want…" I tried to continue training, but I kept having the urge to look again, which I ignored as much as possible. As if I didn't feel odd enough with her watching, I always felt bad when she retreated into the house when I did glance at her. As per her habit, she would smile before she did so, but I always felt that I was forcing her away so that I might train.

Kushami must have looked at her watch or something for she made a slight exclamation and said, "Damn, I'm late." She opened the door and went into the house. "I have to take a pill right now…"

I fully stopped again and almost fell on my face in shock. "**_P-pill?!_**"

**.-K-.**

Just when I opened the box and taken out the square of foil and plastic that contained several of the pills, I heard someone run into the house and I turned to the open door of my room just in time to see Tenshinhan skid to a stop by it and sprint into my room with a surprised, maybe even terrified look on his face. "K-Kushami…!"

"Err…yes?"

His eyes switched between the box that I was holding and my face, but he didn't say anything.

"What is it Tenshinhan?"

"Nothing… I mean… what are those pills for?" He seemed embarrassed about asking this question.

"Just some over the counter medicine. I'm not sick or anything. Is that all you wanted to know?"

"Well… yes…" He looked away. "And… it's not prescription?"

"That's what 'over the counter' means."

He nodded and looked at me again. "So what are they for if you're not sick? Are they just vitamins?"

"Well, to skip all the mediocre things, it keeps me from sneezing. I've taken it before, so I know how to handle it and everything."

"They keep you from sneezing? …Isn't that a little…unhealthy?"

"That's why I don't always take them. Even though they're over the counter, there are a few complications and side effects. I only take them if I was going on a really long trip to do some delicate pilfering."

He was silent for a while. "So… does that mean you're leaving soon?"

I blinked. "Not at all."

"Huh? Then why are you taking it?"

"To show _you_ that I can handle myself." I poked him in the ribs. "If you're so worried about the transformations, then I'll take control of them."

He looked uncertain. "Well, at least they're not birt—" He stopped himself and his whole face seemed to get red again.

"At least they're not what?"

He coughed and went back outside to train with barely another word. I grinned a little bit. _It's taking a while, but we're getting a little more comfortable with each other around. I wonder how long it'll be before I can do anything more than follow him and try to help him out?_

**.-T-.**

I didn't like the idea of Kushami taking those pills, despite the health risk, just to keep me from worrying about her. Still, I said nothing against it. She wouldn't stop taking them until she was certain that my worry wasn't a factor anymore, and I knew that.

Chouzu once again had to make the meals for the three of us. Come dinnertime, he had finished training early to fix it and do some of the other chores. He still had to watch the stove, so I was left with the laundry.

Lunch almost always did the laundry for all of us, but I didn't really mind having to do it myself… until I realized that I had to pick up her clothes and wash them as well. I entered into the guestroom a little more timidly than usual, looking around to make sure that she wasn't there, and basically acting like I was there to steal something or whatever other reasons someone should act that way. I didn't see anything left on the floor or bed, and I looked around until I saw the suitcase that she entered with. She probably leaves her clothes to wash in there…

I flipped the latches and opened it. "Strange," I muttered to myself, "The only thing in here is really elaborate-looking handkerchief…" I picked it up to look at it and froze. _Oh my God… This _isn't_ a handkerchief…!_

At the worst of times, I heard Kushami come in and walk towards the room. I strained to move, but it didn't work. _Don't tell me that my body decided to lock down _now

"Tenshinhan?" She called, almost to the room.

_Damnit, body! Move! Respond! Haven't I gone through enough humiliation as it is?!_

**.-K-.**

I found Tenshinhan in my room. "Hey, what are you doing in here?"

_If I didn't know any better, I'd swear he's scared to move. _I came closer to him. "Yo, is everything alright? Hey, what are you holding there?" I leaned over and looked to see what was in his hands, then all of the blood must have run out of my face so fast that I had to have turned blue. He was holding that slinky, green and orange lace teddy that I had bought before coming here. "…Eep."

We must have stood there in shock for 10 minutes before he managed to drop it and step back, his eyes still wide. "Accident," was all he could choke out.

This managed to break my trance and I tried a grin. "I guess you can say that I only wear that for special occasions…"

"'Special occasions'…?"

"Well, none have happened yet, but…" I tried to scoot away the smallest amount as to not seem to be retreating. "I got it just incase any do."

He looked at me after I said this, and it made me jump back. Without another option, his eyes went to the floor. "I'm sure that you'd look wonderful in it…"

All the blood came back to my face at once, and with a vengeance. "Do you really think so?"

His face went furiously red. "That is to say…"

"Dinner's finished!" Chouzu came in with his usual cheery look. What incredible timing that kid has.

It's really all about food with these guys since they're always so hungry after training. In the middle of eating, I looked up at Tenshinhan. "Why were you in my room, anyway?"

"I was looking for your laundry…"

"Huh? Why? I did my own laundry this morning."

"…You did?"

"Yeah."

He winced. "Do you mind if I drown myself in my soup for being an idiot?"

I giggled. "Don't you want to see what I look like in that thing first?"

"I thought that they were only for 'special occasions'."

"What do you think that I meant by special occasions?" As long as I had the bait, I was perfectly able to tease a little bit without being too flustered.

He laughed a bit and started acting more normally, despite the flush on his cheeks. Then, something completely unexpected, he answered my bluff. "Then perhaps you can come by my room with it on tonight."

I nearly dropped my fork. I actually got Tenshinhan to _flirt_. Amazing what some lace and ribbons could do to a relationship.

Chouzu didn't seem to understand what was going on. A lot of things about what has been happening to us have gone over his head. But, I think that he had a basic idea of what was going on. "Are you and Ten-san together now?"

We both looked at him a little oddly. "What do you mean?" Tenshinhan asked.

"Like what happened at the tournament with Goku and that girl Chi-chi."

My eyes got a little wide. "That's a little different…"

"How so?"

Tenshinhan fidgeted in his chair a bit. "They got _married_, Chouzu."

"Oh… but that's what I thought you two would do."

I shouldn't have thought that it was a safe time to try to swallow food. It went down the wrong tube and went into a coughing fit, then drank some water to soothe my throat afterwards.

"It's a bit… early to even be…" Tenshinhan began, but stopped. "Never mind, Chouzu. Non-arranged marriages take time to even consider. Let's just leave at that."

I sighed heavily. "Mind if I turn down your offer tonight?"

"Really, I was about to ask you the same thing."

* * *

Quick chaptering up is good, especially since I might not be able to do that anymore pretty soon. College is beckoning. 


	5. Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

Disclaimer: Chapter one.

Short message: If you read Green Valentine Daiquiri or any of its counterparts, I would appreciate your involvement in either the suggestions, voting, or both in the contest thing that I'm doing. See ff-net profile for details.

**

* * *

.-K-.**

I pulled out a different gun and began shooting at the tree again. Just as Tenshinhan has to train his body, I have to train my eye. It offered me something to do, since the longer I might watch him train, the more flustered he would get. As much as that is a good sign for me, I don't want to interrupt his work.

I hit again, perfectly. The bullets hit some bullets that were already driven into the wood and ricocheted off to the side and hit another tree, right on its mark. I grinned at my skill and pulled out a different gun and loaded it. _I'm practically infallible!_ _Even if those guys at the tournaments _can_ catch bullets, I bet I could catch them off guard. I might not be able to hurt them, but I can certainly scare them a bit._ I slapped the cartridge in place, and a neat little idea came to me.

When I came back, it was a little late, and the boys were a little concerned, but Tenshinhan held off his worries (I guess he finally realized that he's been too nervous) and began casual talk when I sat down to dinner. I was sitting closer to him now, flirting more often and with an innuendo slipping through every once in a while. I opted to clean the dishes, but he still hung around, leaning against the kitchen counter and grinning slightly.

"Kushami," he said, "What do you plan on doing?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Well, I doubt that you want to stay here forever with a couple of martial artists, always training. Surely, you have some sort of design for later."

"Not really," I said, drying off a glass with a towel, "The sneezing sort of puts a damper in long term plans like that, plus my lifestyle doesn't really permit me to settle down."

"I see… So, that's why you stayed so long at Kame-Sennin's house."

"Pretty much." I put the glass down and started working on a bowl. "Why do you ask?"

I stopped rubbing the bowl dry as soon as his arm curved around me and settled above my hip. "I guess I'm just curious. Wouldn't you get bored just hanging around?"

"And why would I get bored around you?" I said, nudging him lightly with my shoulder while moving for another dish.

He hesitated a little bit before answering, "We never really do anything here except converse and basically live together."

"Sure we do. You're training outside everyday, and I need to train every once in a while, too." I said in a rather ineffectual voice, fully knowing where he was going to go with this.

"Yeah, but we could very well do that on our own. I meant that we should do something different…_together_."

"Hmm…" I stopped cleaning the dishes a moment. "What would you suggest?"

"Eh-" Tenshinhan blinked. It seemed as though he didn't quite think this through. "Well…" He looked off to the side.

I grinned and put down the last dish. "It's getting dark, and you're probably tired by now. You should rest."

"I'm fine, really…" Tenshinhan's voice trailed off a bit. I dried my hands and grabbed his arm, still slightly grinning. He looked at me again with his eyes somewhat more wide than usual.

"Ne, Tenshinhan, how about we just take a walk in the woods or something like that?" Tenshinhan's house was inside of a large clearing that was surrounded by a thick forest, so that he could train without any outside interference.

"A walk?" He raised a brow.

**.-T-.**

We only walked a few minutes before Kushami sound a place for us to sit down. A conversation soon sprung up while the sun went down. Just when the sky was at its deepest red, she rose again and quickly gathered firewood to start a small campfire. I tried to help her with it, but she protested.

"Tenshinhan! You've been training all day! _You_ sit and relax; _I'll_ build the fire."

I always felt awkward when she acted in such a way, but I knew better to accept. It didn't take her long to get the fire going, but by the time it was up, the sky was almost completely black, save the specks of stars.

Kushami sat back down beside me on the ground, this time slightly closer. "How's that?"

I nodded. "You did it quickly."

"Yeah. I'm used to building fires. I had to survive in woods a lot when I was on the run, you know?"

"I see…" I smiled a little and gazed into the fire. I expected her to start up another conversation, but instead, after sitting in silence in a while, she moved behind me and grabbed my shoulders.

"Err… Kushami…" I stiffened my back and I felt the blood rush to my face. "What are you doing?"

"You seem kind of tense… so I thought that I should give your shoulders a rub." She said, pushing her palms against the muscle and starting to massage into my skin.

_Of course I seem tense!_ "I-is that absolutely necessary?"

She stopped. "What? You don't like it?"

"It's not that— I mean—"

"Hmm? What is it, then?" She dug in again. I could hear her trying to squelch a giggle.

_She's messing with me, isn't she?_ "I meant… that you seem more interesting in a massage than talking," I tried to say with as serious a manner as I could muster.

She stopped again and I felt her pull away. "Eh-… I didn't think that it'd bother you."

"No, don't stop. I like it."

"H-huh?" She hesitated before starting again, this time her hands acting much more unsure than before. It didn't take her too long to realize what I was doing and she smacked my back in frustration. "Damn you, Tenshinhan! Stop trying to tease me!"

I started laughing. "What? You were doing the same thing."

"Tenshinhan!"

"The way I see it, all's fair in love in war. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Wonderful choice of words. How the Hell am I supposed to get back at you for trying to embarrass me like that? Pounce on you and rip your clothing off?"

"Maybe you shou—wait, what?" I turned around and shot her an uncertain look.

"Heheh… I'm kidding. Besides, I saw your boxers at the tournament."

"…Oh God, I forgot that you were in the audience…"

She nodded, a huge blush seizing her cheeks and appearing flustered from remembering it.

"I guess that means that if I get to see you in that teddy, we're even," I blurted out before I knew it, then nearly smacked myself for it.

But she didn't smack at me or accuse me of teasing her anymore. Instead, she scooted back by my side and huddled against me. "We should spend the whole night out here."

"… I don't know. I want to get up early to train tomorrow…"

She scoffed. "You get up too early. Besides, I'm sure that you're perfectly capable of sleeping outside."

"Well…" I reacted anxiously, but I sighed and gave up. "Ok, Kushami."

"Arigatou, Tenshinhan."

I glanced at her again. _Did she really just say "arigatou?" That's rather unlike her…_

The rest of the night went rather airily to say the least. She didn't try to flirt with me anymore (except for occasionally pushing herself more on my side), and we really didn't do much more than talk about the others.

"And you were living in Muten Roshi's house along with Son Goku and Kuririn, right?" I said.

"Yeah. It seemed like a good place to hide out after all. An island in the middle of the ocean is a fantastic place to keep away from the authorities when the heat is up, you know?"

"Aren't you _still_ doing things, though? I mean, robbing places."

"Yeah, but I've been more careful about it lately and doing lower profile jobs. The price on my head has already been revoked in most regions, and the ones that they remain are a bit lower. And there aren't "Wanted" posters for me in practically every post office in the world anymore."

I thought for a second. "And why are you being so careful this time?"

She grinned and, instead of answering my question, said, "I wonder how Goku is doing with his new wife."

"Oh yes, Son's wife. What was her name? Chi-Chi?"

"Something like that. I think that he met her before I came to Kame House or something, because I didn't recognize her at all. I think that they said she was the daughter of Gyumaou, though."

"Gyumaou? That's a bit odd… she doesn't look like anyone who would be related to a guy like him."

"Have you seen him before?"

I scratched my head. "Tsuru-Sennin showed me a picture of him when he was still training under Muten Roshi. Plus, with all the things that I heard about him, I imagined him to be at least too monstrous to have a daughter like that."

"Hmm… Kuririn must be jealous. Goku got a wife before he did."

I wasn't sure when exactly I fell asleep, but I was fairly certain that Kushami fell asleep sometime before me, which I thought was odd because she usually would stay up rather late into the morning. I don't remember much of the image of her sleeping, just that she was laying down, her head propped against my shoulder and hugging my arm as she slept, the fire making the light and shadows sway on her.

Chouzu woke me up the next morning, and Kushami was already gone. He said that she had went out into another part of the woods to train her shooting and told him to wake me up before it was time for us to train. I rubbed my face, trying to remember anything significant last night, or any dreams that I might have had. I drew up a blank and rose, walking towards the house to change clothes and eat breakfast.

With this odd set up, I figured that the rest of the day would probably be unusual, but I was in no way prepared for what was going to happen.

* * *

They did keep the part where Goku pantsed Tenshinhan in the tournament, didn't they? I mean, surely FUNi wouldn't cut something like that out, right?  
I'm being optimistic, I know. If it wasn't in the version that you saw, Goku took Tenshinhan's belt during their fight, and his pants fell down. It was an interesting scene, to say the least  
Oh yeah, Gyumaou is Ox-King's Japanese name. 


	6. The Alice Stone

Disclaimer: Chapter one. You know where that is, right?

**

* * *

.-K-.**

I left earlier than Tenshinhan woke up, making sure that Chouzu thought that I was training my eye out in the woods again. Of course, that's not what I was actually doing. Tenshinhan might not really mind that I go off to steal things every once in a while, but I know that if he knew that I was going for something owned by a former member of the Red Ribbon Army, he would put his foot down and try to keep me from going in any way possible. Knowing that, I wasn't sure if I should feel angered or flattered, so I chose to just keep him out of it. He never went looking for me when I trained, anyway, since he was always too busy training himself.

The Embrio bike (**a/n**) whirred fiercely when I careered off a cliff into a trajectory that left me in the air for a full minute at least. The landing was a bit rough, but I was able to keep my balance and not let it bounce off to the side. Dust swirled around me and I continued to zoom forward out of the cloud around me, making the swirls follow my path. The area surrounding this man's house was mostly desert, but as I approached, I could see that irrigation kept his yard green and lush. I felt a smirk come to my face._ Only a rich man can afford a place like this._

I swerved to stop and dismounted my vehicle before capsulizing it and hiding myself among the thick bushes that surrounded the green land like a courtyard wall. Taking a scan of the area, I saw some small blinking red lights and could hear the slight whir of mechanics. I could tell that the security system was very little, yet what they used was a newer, more advanced system than most. _They didn't expect any trouble, but they we're prepared just in case. It won't matter; I can get past it._

I tried to pick out the mechanical hums until I recognized one that sounded like a generator. I approached it cautiously, finding it behind a tall grass-like plant placed in an obscure location. I pushed aside the leaves and examined it carefully. _It's a small generator specifically for powering the security system. Fools, this just makes it easier to get in and out without anybody noticing. _I took out a pair of large, insulated wire cutters I had for this specific task and clipped the main line of the power source. The low hum slowed and softened until its dynamic turned non-existent.

Instead of going through the trouble of going for a window and cutting through the glass or any sort of "classic" method of break in like that, I shimmied up the drainpipe and stepped out on an open balcony and merely pushed open the glass door. No one was in this room, and it didn't sound as though there were anyone even on this floor, but I could here the sound of a man training below._ It sounds like he's in the basement._

I took a harder look around, and noticed that the place was meant for more than one person; it was meant for a couple. The bedroom was large and had closets for a man and a woman. I padded around the house, looking through all of the levels for the thing that I came for, and realized that the only place that it could be, if it were still in the house, is the basement along with the man.

Since the floor wasn't wood, but a nice, plush carpet, it was easy to move around without being heard, but I felt my muscles continue as if I were walking on dried leaves. I peeked down the stairs to see a shirtless, redheaded man punching at a bag. He grinned as his last hook went into it with a twist and the filling began to pour out from the whole that he made. He smirked at his accomplishment. "I'll have to get an even stronger hide on these punching bags." He said to himself.

I wanted to scoff at his self-praise. _He thinks that he's good, but he's nothing compared to Tenshinhan_. The more that I thought about it, the easier the job seemed. Sure, the guy was strong, but I could probably incapacitate him with my shooting. Despite his strength, he hardly looked _bullet proof_. I was just setting a foot on the first step when I heard the distinct sound of a one-man hover vehicle pulling up in front of the house.

Footsteps came up, and I quickly went behind some furniture. The door opened, and a familiar figure came it. It looked female, and her clothes were mostly torn denim and pads which, along with the helmet, made her look like she was from some sort of motorcycle gang. Then she took off the large, blue helmet, and a low growl came from my throat before I knew to squelch it. With that blond hair and blue eyes, there was no doubt… it was the so said "master thief", and my rival since we split forces so many years ago that I almost forgot her.

_Hasuki._

**.-T-.**

I never worried about Kushami when she went training before, but when she didn't appear for our midday meal, I couldn't help but notice. I wanted to go check on her, but I convinced myself that she just lost track of time. Even so, I found myself very quiet at the table as we ate, from time to time just staring into the bowl of soup instead of eating.

This didn't go unnoticed for long. "Ten-san, is everything okay?" Chouzu asked, fidgeting on the books placed on his seat so that he could reach the table.

"I know Kushami's just training outside, but I can't help but to feel worried when she misses meals."

Chouzu reflected my worry. "The birds haven't flown today."

"Eh? What do you mean by that?"

"Whenever Kushami-san trains in the woods, the birds fly away from her, I guess because of the loud noise her gun makes."

I blinked. _That's right. The birds run from that side of the woods when she trains there, and I can sometimes hear the shots she makes before they do. But today, I haven't heard any shots._ I got up. "Come. Let's go check it out."

It didn't take long to find the area where she must have trained. The trees had Xs carved into them and bullets were lodged into the middle of each, but the air didn't smell of gun smoke and the bullets were cold. There was no sign that Kushami had been there since yesterday. "Chouzu, did she eat breakfast?"

He shook his head. "She said that she didn't have time."

_She must have gone somewhere, probably rather far._ I thought a moment._ She probably went on her bike. Those unusual uni-bikes aren't all that common, and their single, wide wheel is very distinctive. _I went immediately for the closest dirt road. "Chouzu, we're going to track her down."

**.-K-.**

_Of all the damned luck, _I growled internally. I was stuck behind a sofa, forced to wait while Hasuki called up the man from the basement and sat her ass down in the living room, where they struck up a conversation that already went on for an hour. I knew that I probably couldn't get past her eye, so I wasn't about to try, and I figured that getting caught by either of them would put me between a rock and a hard place.

"Well, Silver," she said, grinning at him, "When are you going to finish training like this and help me out with my heists more often?"

Silver scoffed. "You're always bugging me to do that. Don't you think that you can do well enough without me?"

"A girl needs protection sometimes, y'know?" Her grin turned into a scowl. "Ever since I met that kid, _Son Goku_, I've had to realize my shortcomings."

The name made Silver snarl as well. "Son Goku almost had me killed by my superiors in the Red Ribbon Army. I couldn't believe that such a kid could beat _me_."

_They knew Son Goku?_ I smiled. _And Hasuki was beat by him? Heh, I'll have to congratulate him on it next time that I see him._

Hasuki's brow cocked. "Silver, did you notice that?"

"Hmm? What?"

She gestured upwards to a small white box on the wall near the ceiling. "The little red light on that hasn't blinked on that in a while."

"Hmm? Why's that?"

"There must be something up with the security system, again." She grumbled, and stood up from her lounging chair. "Damn sand keeps getting into everything no matter how improved it is. I'll go check it out." She went through the door.

_Now's my chance._ I got out a gun and popped up from behind the sofa, where Silver was sitting, and pointed the gun right at the back of his head, allowing the trigger to click. "Hand over the Alice Stone and I wont blow your brains out," I said with a quiet, yet stern voice.

"W-who is that?" He said.

"It doesn't matter. Just get me the Alice Stone. And don't call for your friend; if you do, I'll kill you right here."

"What?" Silver struggled to keep himself from instinctively looking back at me.

"Hurry up or I'll kill you anyway."

"_Kuso_…" He reluctantly rose and began to walk forward.

"Keep your hands where I can see him. I don't want any funny business from you."

He raised his hands until he came up to a bookcase and began fooling with the books, which had to mean he kept the stone in one of them. _What a passé means of hiding valuables._ As he opened one, I could hear footsteps approaching rapidly, so I switched the gun to my left hand and prepared another one in my right, turning to the door.

"Silver! Someone cut the line! There must be someone on the—" She entered to see me. "—premises."

I grinned and pointed my gun at her as well. "Good-day, Hasuki."

"Kushami, you…!"

"Don't worry. I'm not here for any sort of revenge or homicidal mission; I'm just here to collect the Alice Stone from your redhead over here. I had no idea you two were _involved_."

Her scowl turned into a smirk. "Kushami… did you really think that a master thief such as myself would have such amateur security without some sort of backup?"

"Backup?" Just then, I heard a gun trigger cock behind me, and I jumped away just in time to dodge a shotgun. I turned to see a strange, metallic creature that looked like an iron skeleton with a large, red bow around its neck, holding a gun in its hands. "What the Hell…?"

"That would be #3," Hasuki said proudly, "One of the prototype androids created by the Red Ribbon Army. He's not a very strong fighter, but he's a wonderful shooter. Silver and I managed to snatch him away when the Red Ribbon Army was defeated."

_Damnit! What can I do?_ I can't run away from Hasuki like this! #3 raised his gun up and aimed at me again. _If I do run, I can get out of this unscathed, but… A stone might not be worth it, but it's about honor, now. I'll steal that stone and show Hasuki who's the greatest thief once and for all._ I dove for the stone as I felt the bullet bury into my shoulder.

* * *

(**a/n**) I've seen the idea of a one-wheeled motorcycle a lot in anime, including Kushami's, but I've never seen any evidence of it actually existing except for a concept bike called "Embrio" from France, so I went with that.  
And Hasuki, AKA "Huskie" or whatever the FUNi name is for her, is the girl thief that was hired by RRA to steal DBs from Goku. 


	7. Lost and Won

**D**isclaime**r** See chapter one.

Hasuki wasn't in the manga? Hmm. Well, I can't say that I'm surprised; I don't have about half of the whole encounter with the Red Ribbon Army in manga, but I _do_ know that there were several other characters added in that point of the anime.

**

* * *

.-T-.**

Chouzu and I had followed the tracks for several hundred kilometers before I saw something that caught my eye: a woman on a one-manned vehicle with her blond hair fluttering behind her in the wind. _There she is,_ I thought, and I flew to approach, but as I got closer, I realized that this woman, although she looked very similar, was not Kushami.

Following close behind was a hover car with two people in it. I couldn't make them out very well, but it seemed to be a man and a… skeleton with a red bow around its neck? I stopped my approach and motioned for Chouzu to do the same. "They may be a little odd, but there's no reason to deal with these people; they probably don't know anything about Kushami."

Chouzu nodded, but then something caught his attention. He looked to the side. "Ten-san, look."

Instead of on the dirt road, Kushami was driving through the rocky terrain surrounding it, and having a tough time keeping control; she looked as if she was having as much difficulty as if she were riding a bull given a shot of adrenaline. _Why is she doing such a thing?_

One of the stones from the rough path was thrown up into her face by the tire, smacking her off her seat. She tumbled to the side into the ground, the bike following her and catching her left leg underneath it. "Kushami!" I shot down immediately to help, but as I did, I heard an exclamation back from the group on the road.

"There she is!" The woman screamed. "Come on! Let's take care of her once and for all!"

_Kushami must have caused some trouble again,_ I groaned in my mind, _She really should learn to quit doing such things before she gets herself seriously hurt._

Kushami managed to pull out her leg and get up by herself, though she was limping and bleeding all over from, what I thought, were scratches she obtained by falling off the bike. "_Kuso_…" she growled.

**.-K-.**

No sooner did I get up than another shot landed at the ground before me. My crash gained the attention of my pursuers; Hasuki, driving her hover-bike with her other hand, had a gun pointed directly at me, and her friends were right behind her in a car, with #3 standing erect and aiming ahead as well. The thing fire and nearly got my leg.

"Bakayarou!" I took out my own semi-automatic and shot at it again, once again pounding it with bullets and adding a new set of dings, but it shook it off and took aim again.

Now, Hasuki was within 10 meters, and she opened fire. I rolled to the side and kept running, trying to avoid her Uzi spread. She passed and circled me, then parked her hover-bike down and changed clips. Silver followed and stopped his car before bailing out with the robot, which was about to shoot again, but Tenshinhan suddenly appeared from behind and pulled the shotgun from its grasp.

Silver was caught off guard by the sudden arrival. "Who are you!"

I'm not sure if I've ever seen Tenshinhan look so angry. Even when that Tao Pai Pai slashed him with a knife in the tournament, he didn't look so pissed. "Why are you trying to kill Kushami?" He said, gritting his teeth at Silver.

"It's none of you're business!" was the man's response, "#3! Hurry and kill him for interfering!"

The robot nodded in compliance and its ribcage opened and a series of large gun barrels extended, pointed straight at Tenshinhan. I would have expressed my concern, but this was about the time Hasuki decided to continue fire and I had to act. I dodged again and, after putting away my clip-eater, I pulled out a handgun, aimed, and shot the hover-bike, causing the bullet to ricochet and hit Hasuki in the arm.

"Hasuki!" I heard from the side. Silver was now under the grasp of Tenshinhan, who, I could tell, destroyed the metallic skeleton in one blow. Silver must have attempted to fight Tenshinhan afterwards, probably rather confident that his "fighting skill" could help him out, but instead had his collar seized by the triclops.

I ignored the scene and pointed by gun straight at Hasuki. A frightened look came on her face and her eyes shot to her comrade. "Silver! Damnit, protect me!" But I knew that her friend wouldn't be able to pull himself out of Tenshinhan's fist. Her expression soon turned angry. "If you're not able to protect me, then I have no use for you _or_ the Alice Stone!" She sprinted towards her bike and got back on before I could shoot her again, rushing off into the distance as quickly as she could.

"Don't think that you can run from me now!" I screamed, then ran to my own vehicle and took on a chase after her.

**.-T-.**

When the woman and Kushami ran off, I threw the man to the ground. He coughed and tugged at his ascot, trying to catch the air that I was restricting. But instead of running or taking on the offensive, he looked down at the ground with eyes full of rage. "Damn that Hasuki… after all that we've been through, she's willing to abandon me like this…?"

"You didn't answer my question," I said, "Why were you trying to kill Kushami? And don't tell me that you were just trying to subdue her; I know the difference."

His eyes traveled back to my face reluctantly. "She stole something of ours called 'the Alice Stone' that we stole a few years back together, among other things. Most of the things that we stole, we sold for money, but we planned to keep the stone a while longer, since we knew the value of it would triple over time."

"Who are you people?"

There was a pause before he accepted that he would have to answer. "I'm Silver, a former commander of the Red Ribbon Army, and Hasuki is one of the greatest thieves in the world, also hired for a brief interval by the Red Ribbon Army. She was also partners with your friend Kushami once."

"Partners?"

"Yes. They did heists together because, since they were able to imitate each other rather well, were able to confuse anyone that could get in their way. Hasuki… she raved about how much the two had in common every time she came up, but I never imagined that she'd be in our house, trying to take our most valuable possession."

"Why did they stop being partners?"

"Hasuki said that Kushami just stopped contacting her one day. When they next met after that was when they both attempted to take some large sum from the same armored truck. Neither was interested in sharing with the other, and there was a scuffle afterwards. Hasuki got the money, but ever since, the two have been rivals."

I left my gaze from him and stared off into the direction Kushami and Hasuki ran. "Are they intent on killing each other?"

"Seems like it…" he said, almost spitting. "I shoulda' figured that Hasuki was just using me for protection, since she's only got gun proficiency herself. You'd better be careful that your Kushami doesn't abandon you if you refuse to protect her."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you see it? When you came, she barely showed you any attention, even when #3 was pointing his arsenal straight at you, and when you subdued us, she didn't mutter any thanks, but went off to finish off her rival instead. You're probably as expendable to her as I was to Hasuki."

"That's not…!" I wanted to respond somehow, but I instead sent a telepathic message to Chouzu, who I told to wait above and not interfere, to follow Kushami and Hasuki.

**.-K-.**

I shot down her hover-bike and cornered her on a boulder before I really even knew what I was doing. Soon, I had a gun pointed straight at her forehead as she stared up at me, wild-eyed.

"K-Kushami…!" she stuttered, "Why are you doing this? Are you trying to kill _me_ now?"

"It seems fair; after all, you were trying to kill me."

"I didn't mean it! It's just how I deal with people who disrupt my honor; I didn't intend to kill you, just scare you a bit."

"Shut up!" I smacked her with the barrel. "I know intent to murder when I see it!"

"Kushami!" she gasped, then tried to regain her composure, "Kushami… remember how great friends we were before? How much we had in common? People seriously thought that we were sisters. Don't you remember it?"

I didn't respond. I couldn't remember anything like that.

"Do you remember when we stole things together? How we fooled the guards with such little effort?"

I couldn't remember it at all. Shock started to settle in my nerves, and wondered why I remembered her name and face, because I couldn't recall a single memory of her.

"That time… when I took the money from the armored car instead of you… I can pay you all the money that I stole from there. With interest."

_I don't remember an armored car. Why do I know her?_ "No," I said blankly, "I have no such memories of you." I heard her gasp as I pulled back the hammer, but a large hand landed softly on my shoulder before I pulled the trigger.

"Kushami," I heard Tenshinhan's voice say behind me, "Just let it go and we'll go home. You have what you want."

I dropped the gun rigidly and dropped my view to the ground. I swallowed hard, closed my eyes, and nodded, aware that I couldn't possibly say anything else in this situation. I could hear Chap running about to collect my things and capsulize them as quickly as he could before Tenshinhan picked me up and flew back to the house.

**.-T-.**

Even when I sat Kushami down on the couch, she didn't speak a word or do an action. Instead, she just sat there with her eyes closed as I proceeded to treat her wounds silently, with Chouzu's worried hums and the rustle of medical tape being the only sound in the house.

_Why did you lie to me? _I projected to her, unable to stand the quiet any longer.

_Huh? Tenshinhan? _I heard her voice weakly project around her, sounding somewhat perplexed.

I'm using telepathy, since I know that you don't want to talk, but I still want to speak with you. I took a breath and thought the question to her again. Why did you lie and say that you were training when you went to steal the stone?

_I… I thought that you wouldn't approve if I told you I was stealing something from a former member of the Red Ribbon Army._

_You're right about that. There's no way that I would have let you done this had I known about it. _I gently brushed my fingers against the bandaged shot wound on her shoulder. _And look what has happened…_

_I don't need a lecture, _she thought, making an audible snort, _I have enough problems as it is._

_What would have happened if I hadn't come?_

_It doesn't matter; you came._

_Kushami…!_ I sighed. _You've been living with us for already a year, and soon it will be two._

_Has it really been that long?_ For a moment, she sat there, apparently contemplating such a quick passage time, before saying, "If you think that I'm being a nuisance to your training, just say so."

"No, that's not it!" I exclaimed, but I stopped and regained my composure before saying anything else. _She's obviously having problems with what just happened to her; she's never acted so listless before… but I want to say this to her _now "It's just that, the longer I've known you, the more I… the more I…" _Damn, why is this so hard._

Then I realized that Chouzu was staring right at us, naturally curious as to what we were talking about.

I crossed my arms, trying to ignore the heat on my cheeks and the sweat drop running down my temple. "This conversation can wait till tomorrow."

* * *

Quick chapter! I probably could have done more with this Silver/Hasuki thing, but I _really_ don't feel like it. 


	8. He'd Pull His Hair Out Had He Any

**D**isclaimer: Chapter one.

Yeah, Kushami knew that Goku defeated the RRA, but not everyone in the RRA was defeated directly by Goku (most of the soldiers probably never ran into him) and she didn't know that Hasuki was working at the RRA. Maybe I should have been clearer in that area.  
And "Kuso" means more literally "shit". I use a lot of useless Japanese in my fics, and sometimes I forget to translate the common stuff. 

**

* * *

.-T-.**

I made sure that Kushami was still in bed before I went outside to begin my morning exercises. After the fiasco yesterday, I felt that I must be careful to let her go off by herself again. _She damn near got herself killed. If I hadn't been there to protect her…_

The thoughts eventually drowned out as my training ensued, but any brief time of rest, I glanced to the house and checked for her ki. I knew that the chances of her going off again today were slim, but logic didn't seem to help my mindset. I was still dealing with a conflict of emotions between anger, sympathy, and… another emotion that I was planning to talk with her as soon as possible. The anger came from her putting herself in this situation and lying to me to get into it, but the sympathy came, not from the wounds, but from the look on her face when she had cornered that Hasuki woman.

I don't think that she realized how much terror had slipped into her eyes when Hasuki was talking about their past. Her brows were still knit in the determined and threatening fashion that she always had, but her pupils were dilated and her lids had pulled back so far. _"No, I have no such memories of you,"_ was what she said, and the way she said it, it was like she had just gone completely numb throughout her body. And when she dropped the gun and closed her eyes, I prepared myself, expecting that I would have to catch her in a feint or that I would have to calm her down after throwing a fit. But she didn't do any of those things. She remained _silent_.

I was afraid to try to talk to her, but that quiet seemed to have been killing me, especially with all of my own inner conflicts on the issue. I wanted to assess all of them with her, but she didn't seem interested in hearing any of it. The more I thought about it, the more I started to think that the things Silver said might have had some substance to them.

But I didn't keep these thoughts long. My focus during training was on training, and I _don't_ give myself unnecessary long breaks.

Just about when the sun was at its highest, I heard a cheerful voice back from the house, "The food is ready and on the table!"

"Huh?" I looked over and saw the purple-haired Lunch, smiling as she always did. I tensed up. _But—without… she can't…! The pill…!_ Chouzu immediately beamed and went into the house to eat, but I just stood there, staring. _What the Hell? Does there always have to be **something**?_

She tilted her head in curiosity and concern. "Is something wrong, Tenshinhan?"

"No…" I immediately thought of other matters. "How are you feeling? Is your shoulder okay?"

"It feels sore, for some reason, and looks bandaged. I must have done something wrong and gotten hurt. I'm doing all right, though. But the bandaging looks different. Who did it?"

"I did…"

"Oh?" She smiled brightly again. "Arigatou gozaimasu. Are you coming to eat?"

**.-L-.**

I don't know what happened, but I think that I've been "gone" for a long time. There was now a really interesting stone in my room that I'd never seen before. It was full of different colors and looked really expensive. I must have stolen it and got hurt by whoever I stole it from, which has happened a lot before.

Tenshinhan seemed a lot quieter than normal, and Chouzu just seemed genuinely worried about… I'm not sure what about exactly. Sometimes he seems worried about me… and sometimes he seems worried about Tenshinhan. I knew that something must be up, because Chouzu usually was very bright and cheery.

Then I really noticed how Tenshinhan was acting: he looked _really_ frustrated. I don't know why. He didn't say anything about it, and said that he didn't feel like talking about it. I asked Chouzu if he knew, but he shook his head.

"Hmm…" I crossed my arms. "And why did my arm have to be bandaged?" I asked.

Chouzu suddenly panicked. "T-t-that's…"

"I know that I must have gotten myself hurt while doing something bad, but is that why you're looking at me like that?"

"Yeah…" He looked down to the ground.

I gasped. "I didn't make Tenshinhan angry with whatever I did last time, did I? Did I hurt anyone? Is anything damaged?"

"Ten-san is angry, but…" The little guy bit his lip, I guess trying to think up something to say, "But you shouldn't worry about it."

I couldn't help but feel bad. "I always get in the way of things, and I'm probably annoying you both while I'm staying here."

"Iie… it's nothing! That's not why Ten-san is angry!"

"Hmm? Then what is it?"

Before he could answer, Tenshinhan appeared from the other room. "Chouzu, let's train."

"Hai." With that, the two went back outside, leaving me in the living room, still very confused.

**.-T-.**

I really wanted to know how she changed back, but I didn't think that I'd get any answers from Lunch since she wasn't the one that took the pills. I pushed it out of my mind in the training, but this time, it came back a little later. I found myself, instead of focusing on what I was doing, devising on how to get her to sneeze again so that I could finally talk to her. But then I remembered how long that Kushami had been taking those pills. _What am I thinking? She's been taking those things for almost 3 months… She said herself that those things had side effects, and Lunch deserves a chance to live, too. I can't force her to be Kushami all of the time._

No sooner did I think that than I heard her, since she had been beating out rugs that she drug out to the back of the house, sneeze loudly. Instead of waiting, I ran immediately to her, not even stopping to tell Chouzu to keep training till I got back.

"Kushami!" I said, pulling around the corner of the house and stopping right before her.

She was still holding the beating rod and wearing the apron and headscarf, rubbing her eyes from the cloud of dust around her. "…Tenshinhan?"

"Kushami, there's something I've got—"

_Achoo!_

Lunch was now blinking before me, before making a grin. "Hello, Tenshinhan! How long have I been standing here?"

I felt the urge to smack my own forehead. _This is too much._ "Not long. I'm going back to my training, okay?"

"Okay!" She gleefully tuned back to the rugs.

I sighed and walked back to where I was training. "This must be some sort of punishment for the things that I've done in the past… That's the only explanation. 'Let's make that Tenshinhan fall in love with the flightiest girl in the world who disappears whenever she sneezes.'—**_Ack!_**" I had already gotten back to where Chouzu and I were training. _God damnit! Why do I always have to say the dumbest things **out loud**?_

Chouzu only looked at me, not a hint of surprise or any such emotion showing. "Did you tell her, Ten-san?"

"Eh…" It never occurred to me that Chouzu would actually know. I mean, Hell, he _was_ telepathic. I just figured that his sappy behavior carried through most aspects of his behavior and stopped where his training started.

I shook my head. "I… didn't get to. Let's continue."

"But, Ten-san!" Chouzu looked at me with a worried face. "You won't be able to train now."

"What do you mean?"

He frowned. "You can't focus."

I knew that he was right, but I didn't have anything to do otherwise. "I can't tell her right now; she changed back to Lunch." I sat down on a nearby rock. "But I really _can't_ focus. I feel like I'm forcing myself when I try… This never happened before." I gave a half-hearted laugh. "I should have went ahead and told her last night."

"Do you not feel the same way towards Lunch-san?"

This question made me think the most. After all, it was Lunch that cooked and cleaned in the house without pay, but it seemed more out of kindness. It wasn't the same force that drove Kushami to follow me here and live with me, waiting for me while I trained. "I don't know…"

**.-L-.**

I thought a bit about returning the stone to where I found it, but I was back on the thing that always blocked me before: Who owned it in the first place? I decided that I might as well keep it; I'm not innocent of using money that I surely must have stolen to get food before. I didn't like doing it, but I was often starving, and I couldn't always keep jobs. If I had male bosses, I tended to get fired soon after they started looking at me differently, usually bruised and battered looking.

I hated living on the run because I always afraid of what would happen. I was lucky when Kuririn and Goku saved me and brought me to Kame House to live with them and Kame-Sennin. I really don't mind cooking and cleaning for them at all; I just hope that I don't cause them any trouble when I change. I think that's why Tenshinhan is so worried and angry, now.

Chouzu told me not to worry about it, but the thought of Tenshinhan being angry with me hurt a lot for some reason.

* * *

Slightly shorter than some of the things I've been doing lately, but it seemed like a good note to end on.  
And chances are, you know what "hai" is… "iie" would be the opposite. 


	9. About Time

Disclaimer: It dances in the circle of chapter one.

Lots of commenting Good. Keeps the author on track, which is always appreciated.  
Eh… "gozaimasu" is just a _really_ polite word, sort of an ultra-polite version of "desu" (to be). "Arigatou gozaimasu" is usually translated as "Thank you very much," but literally it's just a very polite "Thank you."  
Well, enough of the crappy Japanese lesson. On to the fic!

**

* * *

.-L-.**

I'm not sure if things have improved at all after a few days. He still seemed a bit angry, but the target of it seemed… disconnected? I guess that would be the right word. Anyway, he only grew quieter, if that is possible, apparently putting all of his energy into training, but he doesn't seem as tired when he comes in to eat as he did before. Chouzu is also acting a bit strange, but I can't really put my finger on it.

I was dusting a mantle when something flew out from under the lamp that was on it. "Hmm?" I bent down and picked up a capsule with a number printed on it. "I wonder what this is… I don't have the sheet to tell me what's inside." I thought a bit about going outside and checking myself, but I shrugged and put it back under the lamp instead. "It's probably Tenshinhan's, so I wont bother it."

I went back to cleaning the house, quickly forgetting the little capsule before it was time to begin cooking the next meal for the boys. I cleaned up before going into the kitchen.

**.-T-.**

It took longer to begin my training every day, but as soon as I got into it, everything else blurred into the background even more than it had before. I often forgot that Chouzu was there, hardly recognized my surroundings, and had already missed a few meals because of it. I almost didn't even go to bed the night before. So, naturally, I didn't realize until after he had done it that Chouzu had taken and displaced all of Kushami's capsules around the house.

I looked around myself to make sure she wasn't within earshot before I questioned him. "Why are you hiding them everywhere?"

"What if she sneezes and tries to leave while you're training? You won't notice if she does, and you want to tell her, right?"

_Since when has he been **this** conniving?_ "What makes you think that she'll leave as soon as she sneezes?"

"She thinks that you're getting annoyed by her," he said with a sad disposition. "And since you're forcing yourself to focus more, you're blocking out everything else out more, so you won't notice her if she leaves, even if she says goodbye."

I made another glance around instinctively when he said that, as if expecting her to come out of a room to do just that. Finding nothing, I inwardly criticized myself for the notion and sighed. "She's free to leave if she wants; I'm not going to keep her from doing those dangerous things. I already saved her once."

He made a disappointed sound and affixed his eyes to the floor. Then a slam of a door came that caused me to spin around. It was Lunch.

She looked a little puzzled before she gasped. "Oh! I didn't close the door too hard and interrupt you, did I?"

"No…" I shook my head. "That's fine, Lunch. We had just finished talking. When will dinner be served?"

"Oh, soon." She smiled again. "I made it earlier, actually, except for the soup. The rest of the dinner can just be reheated for a few minutes. I made it beforehand since the soup has a lot of pepper in it."

"You made it before the soup _because_ of the pepper?" _I guess Lunch is aware that a sneeze changes her, too. And that her other self never does the cooking._

"I better get to it!" She said, already going towards the kitchen. I crossed my arms and raised a brow.

Chouzu looked at me, then at the kitchen door that Lunch just went through, before getting one of those unusual smiles of his and flying to hover right beside the door.

I felt my third eye roll. "_Now_ what are you doing?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he waited a little while before laughing a bit, and he raised a hand and pointed towards, or rather past, the door, and a small prick of light flashed on the end of his finger. Soon, I could hear a sneeze from the kitchen.

I scowled at Chouzu. "You moved the pepper in her face, didn't you?"

"What the Hell…?" Came Kushami's voice from behind the door, "I'm still here? Damnit…" There was a pause. "…Where are my bloody capsules!" She soon burst out of the room and stood before me, though her angered look changed momentarily to confusion when she saw that she walked right into my stare. When her growling face came back, she marched up right before me. "Tenshinhan! Did you take my capsules?"

"W-why would I do something stupid like that?" I yelled back at her.

"I-I don't know! You might have sold them or something!"

"Look, I'm sure they're somewhere around the house." I glowered at Chouzu, projecting to him mentally, using a threatening presence, _Stop meddling with my business and… go finish making dinner or something._

"H-hai!" He quickly escaped into the kitchen to take Lunch's place.

Kushami sneered at me again. "What about my capsules, Tenshinhan?"

_Well, I guess I have to tell her **now**… even though there couldn't possibly be a worse time._ "Kushami… let's sit for a moment."

"What? Why?"

"Indulge me for a bit, will you?"

She looked at me suspiciously, but she decided to do as I ask and follow me to the couch. The incredulous stare continued as I sat for a few moments, trying to think of the best way to proceed.

"Kushami," I began, "You've become uncomfortable living here, haven't you?"

"That's one way to put it, I guess," Her gaze didn't lag a bit as she spoke.

"Have you grown tired of me?"

The question seemed to take her back a bit. "What? Where did you get such an idea?"

"Well, I suspected that it would happen sooner or later. After all, I do nothing but train all day, and pay no mind to you through most of it. It'd have to wear on your nerves sooner or later."

"Yeah, a bit, but you're going to do that regardless. It has nothing to do with you, Tenshinhan."

"Oh? And what does it have to do with?"

Her face contorted, as if regretting letting herself speak so quickly. "Well… perhaps it does have to do with you… but not as if you vex me; it is more the other way around."

"You assume that _you_ are annoying _me_ in stead?"

"To put it in a way, yes."

I nodded. "I can see where you get that. To an extent, it's true; you have annoyed me, in a way that I can't train as I have before, and you've become an object of worry from time to time."

"If I'm in the way, you can just give the word, and I'll leave." She said resolutely. I shook my head.

"It isn't necessary, Kushami. Really, such an action would end up causing me more anguish than allowing it to be avoided. I suppose that I should get to the heart of the matter, then. But first… how were you… able to sneeze again?"

She groaned. "The other night, when you told me how long I've been here, you reminded me about how long I've been taking that pill, and I've already had to up the dosage since I started taking it again twice since I was gaining a tolerance, so I thought it best to stop taking it for a while, unless I want to start trying to get a prescription strength version of it, which is just a lot of hassle and money."

"I see…" I heaved a breath, making sure that I would be in good composure to continue. "Kushami, you came here following me, and have been resolved in just staying by me. When we first met, you were trying to entreat me to live with you in Kame House, giving me flatteries that I had scarcely heard during my training before. Afterwards, your presence began to grow on me and… I didn't really realize it until you treated my wounds after that battle with Piccolo Daimaou… I…" I paused my confession a moment to look back to her face, which had dropped its analytical contours in favor of an earnest blush. Since such a sight was so rare and unusual for her, I found myself chuckling instead of finishing the sentence.

"What does that mean?" Her face turned back to her usual sneer, but there was still visible red on her cheeks. "Are you going to mock me and my behavior as stupid now?"

Still grinning, I spoke, "Not at all. I've just never seen your face look so soft before."

She made an audible "Humph," and turned her shoulder from me to look at the opposite wall. "Haven't you got something to say? Out with it!"

"You can't just force this kind of dialogue, Kushami." I gave a sigh. "Then again, I'm not exactly equipped with any sort of experience to say 'I love you.'"

"…What?" Her head shot back to me.

"I said that I love you. If you still wish to leave, I'll help you gather your capsules."

"Don't try to change subjects so suddenly!"

"What am I supposed to say, then?"

She bit her lip before saying, "You could begin by telling me 'why' you're saying this."

"You said that as if I'm trying to prank you. I'm saying this because… it's true. And I've wanted to tell you, but whenever it comes to me, I'm always inconvenienced somehow. I felt that if I didn't tell you soon, I would either self-destruct with the frustration, or you'd leave and force _me_ to chase _you_."

Her face seemed full of skepticism again, but instead resolved to grin. "Fine then. Prove it."

"What?"

"Prove that you love me."

**.-K-.**

Tenshinhan now seemed bewildered, as if he never had to do such a thing before. Then, it became apparent that he had not, as all three of his eyes looked down to the floor in embarrassment. "I didn't expect you to make such a request…"

By now, I thought that I was overflowing with joy, but somehow it kept out of Tenshinhan's sight. I did intend to leave as soon as possible, but only because I thought Tenshinhan would prefer it. Of course, I knew that if he expressed _any_ opinion otherwise, I would pounce quickly on it and delay my wanderings further. I didn't really expect the reason to be so large. Still, I tried to keep a distant disposition, trying to draw him out to say more.

He was really struggling with an answer, at times trying to mutter some form of proof, but shaking his head to negate each one.

"Well? Have you any proof?" I jeered at him, trying to provoke him even more.

His answer was a shot back up to my eyes with the determined look he often had while he fought. I was about to urge him more when he at once gathered both of my hands into his and forced a kiss upon my lips. My eyes must have been stuck open as wide as trays from the abruptness, even while he retreated as quickly as he advanced. I wondered what made him recoil so quickly before I realized that Chouzu had entered the room again to announce that dinner was ready.

"I'd… better get back to the kitchen." He said, trying to sulk back out with a nervous laugh.

"Chap!" I shouted at him, pointing a finger at him with a sort of authority, "You're not leaving! I'll probably have some questions for you as well!" I turned back to Tenshinhan. "What the Hell are you doing? Trying to confuse me even more?"

"Wha…? Did you dislike—"

"No, no, no. Don't go assuming stupid things. I told you when we first met that I was crazy about you, and I still am! But you've been sending me mixed signals. You seemed angry that I lied to you the other night, but you…" My hand moved upon its own accord to the shoulder that had been wounded before, remembering how he bound the wounds and grazed his hand across it from time to time, even while he "projected" his distaste.

He didn't seem to want to speak of it further now that there was an audience, which, I imagine, kept him from continuing before several times. After all, Chouzu has an impeccable sense of timing to come in just at the right moment.

I turned back to Chouzu. "And how long have you been in on it, Chap?"

Chouzu laughed nervously again. "Not long."

"You're the one that took my capsules, weren't you?"

"Err…"

"You can continue to interrogate him more through dinner," I heard Tenshinhan say behind me, with a voice that was more calm and normal for him to assume. Chouzu, thus released, sprinted through the door again. Tenshinhan and I walked to the door in a shared pace, but right before it, he halted and stooped to kiss my cheek. When I turned to give some sort of response to it, he ushered me into the kitchen ahead of him.

* * *

Yeah… I don't know. Don't read "Jane Eyre" before posting a chapter, I guess. It does _**c**r**a**z_**y**things to your writing. 


	10. Shaky Date

Disclaimer: w00t. ch4pt3r 0n3XorZ. Bah. I'm running out of disclaimer gimmicks.

This is probably my most popular fic. It seems that people really like the forgotten couple of the show after all. It's too bad that Tori-sensei didn't play it up enough, but now I get to do it in his stead!  
And this one is a little longer than usual. Yayz! 

**

* * *

.-K-.**

I think what surprised Tenshinhan the most was that nothing really changed after he finally admitted his feelings. He must have expected things to turn upside down, since he showed anxiety at first from time to time, sprinting between nervous and embarrassed to completely comfortable when I was in his presence.

When he and Chouzu came in after training for the day, I leaned up and kissed Tenshinhan on the cheek. He smiled before looking down to me. "And why did you insist that Chouzu continued training instead of making dinner?"

"I have a surprise for you guys." I smirked. "I'm taking you guys out to a nice restaurant. I made reservations this morning."

"Really? Are you sure that it's all right? You know, since you're…"

"Don't worry about it." I started looking through my capsules to find a hover car. "There actually aren't that many bounty hunters in the city, you know. And the police usually ignore me unless I steal something right under their noses." I found the capsule I was looking for and plucked it out of the case. "Besides, even if someone _did_ find me and try to take me in, I can easily get out of it."

Tenshinhan groaned. "Kushami…"

"I know, I know. I'll be careful. My road rage will be at an all time low when on the street, and I'll try to obey the traffic laws. I'm even leaving behind my guns." I smirked. _Except my trusty Uzi, of course…_

"Hmm…" He frowned again, but he quickly wiped that away with a sigh and replaced it with a grin. "Very well, Kushami. You said that this is a good restaurant?"

"One of the best," I began to walk outside before remembering something. "Oh, right. You might want to change or something, Tenshinhan. As much as I like you're chest being exposed all the time, I doubt the people at the restaurant would like it."

He blushed slightly and nodded. "I'll wash quickly and change… You should probably change, too."

"Don't worry, I've got an outfit picked out all ready. You just get ready, I'm going to have a look at the car."

**.-T-.**

I didn't realize how little I had in clothing until I actually looked at my wardrobe, something that I did very rarely. Most of my more formal clothing still had the Crane symbol on it, and since I had left Tsuru-Sennin's tutelage, I long since pushed those garments to the side as being improper. I did manage to find a royal yellow, Chinese-style jacket that I used to wear, and seeing as it was the only remotely formal thing that I had without my master's Kanji stamped on the front, I tried it on and hoped that it still fit. I seemed to strike in luck, since where it was a little loose around the shoulders before, it now fit rather smugly.

After pushing everything else back in the closet, I exited to see Chouzu and Kushami already dressed. She grinned at me. "What took ya, Tenshinhan? I didn't expect you to be the type that would take so long to decide what to wear."

I felt head approach my face when she said this, and it only increased when I saw that she was wearing a lime evening gown instead of the plain dress (the only dress that I ever saw her in before this). She smiled wider when she noticed how I looked at her and grabbed my arm. "Come on! Let's go!"

Before I knew it, I was in the passenger's seat of her air car and was already on the road. I looked over my shoulder to Chouzu, who sat peacefully in the backseat with his hands in his lap. _Well, at least he can be calm about this…_

Kushami was beaming as if she couldn't stop smiling even if she wanted to. How awkward it was to see her smiling so widely, it took a few moments for me to see that she also had make-up on. I found myself examining her face, amazed by such a peculiar change.

It didn't go unnoticed long. "Tenshinhan, why are you staring at me like that? Do I have something on my face?" She said sarcastically.

"Actually, you do…"

"Huh?" Her eyes widened and she looked immediately at the rearview mirror. "Where?"

"I meant the make-up. Why are you wearing it?"

"Oh…" She frowned in slight embarrassment. "I just thought that this might be a good time to try it… Do you like it?"

"I prefer without. Your natural beauty is fine." I said, which was perfectly honest. Really, I could tell that Kushami couldn't use make-up very well, it looked slightly more strange than it did attractive, but I decided that it was best to not speak of it in such a way.

**.-K-.**

_I think that I might have finally gotten Tenshinhan to relax a bit._ I parked the car a few blocks from the restaurant and capsulized it, placing it in a small purse that I had to bring (since these stupid dresses never have any pockets). "Come on," I said, "The place is this way." I began walking ahead and beckoned them to follow.

As we went down the sidewalk, I glanced over at Tenshinhan from time to time, thinking back on when we first met. The tournament, the fight with Goku, and even his help against Piccolo Daimaou… It didn't take long before something popped into my mind. _'I should've at least held hands with him…'_ That's what I said when I learned he intended to use the Mafuuba against Piccolo. Why did that come to mind so suddenly?

Before I knew it, I had grabbed his hand with mine and held it tightly. The action seemed to surprise him a bit. He looked at me quizzically, but I just smiled back at him and said, "Just incase you have to say 'abayo' again."

His face turned solemn. "Kushami…"

"Iie. Don't give me that look. Besides, its interesting to see you with such good manners when you usually just train all day and make me and Chouzu do all the work, so don't go ruinin' it, all right?"

The comment seemed to put him back into a warm mood and he gave a light, playful laugh. "Who is this lecturing me on manners, the girl that probably hijacked some poor guy just to get the money for this meal that she's treating us?"

"Don't be a smartass," I hit him against the elbow. As I did this, a passerby glanced over at me as he came up beside me.

"Hey, the nearest love hotel is right over there." He said, not slowing his pace as he continued down the sidewalk.

All three of us came to a complete stop. My first instinct was to turn around and yell at him immediately. "Oi! What the Hell did you mean by that?"

"Kushami, your dress…" Tenshinhan pointed at my chest with his free hand, his face almost entirely red.

"Huh?" I looked down and saw that one of the spaghetti straps had slipped and half of the dress had fallen off my torso, exposing the lingerie that I wore under it, which happened to be that little green-and-orange teddy. "Ack!" I quickly pulled up the strap and fixed my dress, scurrying to a shop window to study my reflection. "How did that happen?"

After a while of fidgeting, Tenshinhan suddenly took my hand again and drug me away from the window. "It's okay now. Let's go." His tone was forced, trying to hide his own embarrassment.

**.-T-.**

Rousseau's Cuisine was in a standalone building of a pretty decent size (at least for a restaurant) and it gave the air one might expect of a villa. Kushami had calmed down by the time we entered and she gave the man at the front the name that the reservations were under, which was an unfamiliar one that I assumed she made up. We were lead to a table and handed menus before we were left alone again.

I was reluctant to jump right into conversation, still feeling a bit disturbed by what happened. _I can't figure out what's worse… her dress falling like that, that teddy under her dress, or how she stopped in front of a **wedding dress shop**, of all places, to fix herself. _I mentally sighed. _I don't think she even realized that she stopped there. _I looked over my shoulder through the window just behind us. The view was of the street, but luckily a different street than from the way we came there. The sun had almost completely set, so the red light over the horizon was dimming behind the buildings of the city.

"Tenshinhan," her voice snapped me back into attention again, "You can have whatever you want in the menu. You two eat a lot, but it's not like you'd put me into the poorhouse like Goku."

I grinned at the comment and opened the menu to have a look at the selection. The dishes were predominantly European continental, which I should have expected from the name of the establishment. Most of the names seemed hard to pronounce, and the language that it was written in, I wasn't very familiar with, but I was able to make out most of the ingredients by myself, which was all that really mattered anyway.

I finally found something that I wanted and had Kushami order for me (since I couldn't for the life of me pronounce the name of the dish correctly). The waiter said a string of words that I didn't understand, bowed politely, and went off to relay our orders.

Since there was nothing left to do except talk until the food came, Kushami tried to strike up a conversation. "So, Tenshinhan—" She quietly scooted her seat closer to mine. "You two never talk about your past."

My three eyes shifted to her. "You never talk about yours, either."

Her lip went into a slight pout. "Not my fault. I can't remember most of it…" She admitted, "Besides, it's pretty boring."

"_Boring?_ How is that possible?" I was about to mention her thievery, but I stopped myself when I realized that speaking about her activities her might be a bad idea. "What about Lunch…? I'm sure that has to at least bring some sort of interesting story."

"Hmm? Well, maybe, but most of it…" Her sights turned away from me in uncertainty for a moment, but she continued when it returned, "It gets very inconvenient at times, I guess, but there's really nothing I can do about it." She paused again, but added before I could ask about the pills, "That medicine isn't meant to be a solution, really."

"What do you mean?" I was somewhat surprised that she answered my question before I even asked it, starting to wander if that one night of me speaking to her telepathically might have awakened her to reading my mind.

She grumbled. "I take it so that I won't change during a 'job'. If I don't use the pills, I usually wear a mask or something. Changing at a time like that could mean jail, or worse, and that would defeat the purpose of me stealing in the first place. But when I took it for three months, it was to prove to you that I could handle it. Hell, I was able to handle it for this long, right?"

"I… suppose so."

"Even if she couldn't, you'd protect her, right Ten-san?" Chouzu observed gleefully. The remark gave me little room to do much else than look down and quiet myself, a heat settling upon my cheekbones.

"Hey," Kushami said gruffly, punching me in the shoulder, "Cut that out. I brought you two out here so that you can get more comfortable and not act so awkward around me."

I blinked a moment, but then smiled at her again. "All right. If that's what you want."

Anon the food came, and we began to eat. I found myself quite surprised at the quality of the food. When she said that this restaurant was one of the best, she wasn't kidding, but what really shocked me was how much it reminded me of Lunch's cooking (though Lunch, as good as she was, wasn't _this_ good). It would make sense for Kushami for eat here often, but _Lunch_…? I couldn't picture it at all.

"Kushami!" A gnarling voice said. By the table now was a large, bearish man (and quite literally "bearish", too) wearing attire that was in no way as formal as the other customers had worn. "I've found you at last! Come quietly, and no one gets hurt!"

If he didn't gain attention before, he certainly got it now: All eyes in the restaurant were on us. I glanced over at Kushami, but she only looked at the man in a calm, incalculable gaze.

"What are you talking about? Who's Kushami?" she said plainly.

The comment seemed to puzzle him for a moment, but his angered countenance returned quickly. "Don't play games with me! I know that's you Kushami! Don't think that I forgot about that incident back by South Capital!"

My eyes bounced between the two. _What the Hell is going on!_

Kushami turned slightly from him, continuing just as coolly as before, "I haven't seen you before in my life. I think you have me confused with someone else."

A low growl came from him, and he quickly pulled out a shotgun, putting the barrel right in her face. "I'm not letting you get away! Either come with me quietly, or I'll blow your little blonde head off!"

This time I set my teeth and gripped into the table, about to rise and grab him by the throat for the threat. _No one… no one speaks to her that way…I won't allow it!_

Kushami quickly swiped away the barrel and produced an Uzi, shooting warning shots at the bear's feet and causing him to fall backwards. She had a foot on the table, and the other on the chair, holding the gun out before her. There was a pause before she cursed herself. "Damnit! I was trying to keep _low_ tonight, too, but my instincts took _right_ over! This is your fault, you hairy bastard! You ruined my evening!"

"I thought you said that you left your guns behind!" I shouted at her.

"So I lied. It's only one gun, anyway."

"Kushami!"

There were screams throughout the building, and people were running to and fro, looking for an exit to avoid the gun spray. The bear rose and pulled out a submachine of his own. "I didn't think that I'd see you at your favorite restaurant after being missing for so long. People began to think that you finally got yourself killed or something. But I heard a little while ago that you were still active, and took my chances." He scoffed. "Looks like I made a good gamble."

"That's what you think!" She declared, and was squeezing the trigger when a rumble went through the floor. "Huh?" Then again; the dishes and glasses clattered in their places. Kushami's eyes got wide. "What the—"  
A powerful earthquake ripped through the restaurant, shaking everything down suddenly. The building was already mostly evacuated, but dishware all around were flung off the tables and crashed down on the floor. Furniture upturned and the lights flickered as the electric chandelier swayed violently from the ceiling. Kushami herself was tossed backwards. I moved to help her, but she quickly scattered under the table and clasped herself on the center leg. "Wwh-y did it ha-ve to be an ea-rth-qu-a-ke!"

The bear ran off as best as he could, finding the situation to be too overbearing for him. I thought briefly on pursuing him, but Kushami was more important. I crouched and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her towards me. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

* * *

I have stupid patterns in my fanfiction, especially when day-to-day life is involved. In this, it's eating a meal, usually dinner.  
Since I know some of you only know much of Dragonball through manga, I think I should point out that the quote about holding hands was from the series when Tenshinhan, after explaining that he intended to use the Mafuuba (which would mean death), said, over a radio, "Ja na, abayo," which roughly means "See ya, farewell." 


	11. Unpredictable as Summer Weather

Disclaimer: Oh, go to that first chapter. Jesus, am I the only one writing in the Dragonball section of FFnet anymore? This was still on the top of the freaking list right before I posted this chapter.

Yes, I've seen that episode; both in FUNi English and in Japanese… and I've already planned to include it soon. In fact, I'm going to be taking something that happened in that episode for this chapter.  
And, uh, lime alert. I think that's what it's called. –checks wikipedia- Yeah. Lime.

**

* * *

.-K-.**

Tenshinhan had placed me in the back seat alone and took it upon himself to drive us back home. I grasped my arms, still shaking myself even though the earthquake been over for a while now, but feigned that I was just crossing my arms and sneering out of anger when Chouzu looked back at me.

"Kushami… how could you bring a _gun_ to the dinner? You _promised_ that you wouldn't." Tenshinhan said at length.

"So what if I brought a gun?" I spat out, trying to keep my voice as steady as possible. "I _always_ have something with me incase something happens. I mean, come on, what if I _didn't_ this time?"

"Then I would have protected you!" He shouted back at me, anger obviously slipping through.

"I can take care of myself, Tenshinhan!" I barked out quickly.

"Do you really have that little confidence in my ability?" If he didn't sound so resolutely pissed, I would have thought that I had saddened him. "Did you really think that I wouldn't _help_ you?"

"I said that I could take care of myself! It doesn't matter if you can save me 300 times over because it's not needed! Move over and let me take the wheel. You're going too slow." I propped myself up and leaned over the seat, intending to jump into the front seat, but my whole body was still quivering and I fell back.

Tenshinhan's eyes were still set before him as he drove, but Chouzu turned his head to me again. "Kushami-san? Are you okay?"

My arms shivered continuously as if I was cold, but I hissed out otherwise. "Of course I'm okay! Why wouldn't I be?" _Crap, he noticed. Now he'll probably tell Tenshinhan telepathically…_

As I suspected, it didn't take long for my triclops to look back at me, concern etching into the lines of his face. "What's wrong?"

I growled and sneered at him. "Nothing is wrong! What, are you both paranoid all of the sudden? Can we just hurry and go home! I don't want to talk about these stupid things anymore!" She kept her voice in a low-pitched growl as she screamed at them.

"You're shaking like a leaf, Kushami! Something has to be wrong!"

I closed my eyes and crossed my arms again. "Tsh, I think I was better off with you angry at me. At least then you were looking at the road!"

"We aren't even on a road anymore. We're in the air. You didn't notice, did you?"

_I can't tell him about my Seismophobia; I'm sure I seem screwed up enough to him as it is._ "Look, I'm sorry, okay! I'm just… I wanted to give you two a good time and it blew up in my face. When that guy came up, I tried to act like he was mistaken so that he would just drop it, but when he put that gun in my face, my instincts took over!"

He returned his vision in front of him. "That doesn't excuse bringing a gun in the first place."

"It's only one gun!"

"That's not the point! The point is that you lied to me _again_! Let me guess; you said it because I wouldn't approve, right?" Ire quickly rose again in his speech.

"Don't mock me like that!" I shouted back at him, not caring if I was making him wrathful. "Even if I didn't have the gun, I would have done that because it was an _automatic reaction_!"

I expected him to shrug that off and continue on his "you lied to me" spiel, but instead I saw him shiver slightly and say, in a softer voice, "You would have done something so reckless?"

With his tone suddenly changed again, I felt taken back. I looked over to where Chouzu was sitting, hoping that he could give me some sort of sign on Tenshinhan's attitude, but he must have hidden himself under the dashboard, because he wasn't to be seen.

"Kushami," he continued, "There's a lot of things that you do that angers me. I don't like it when you go off to commit crimes. I don't like it when you've hindered my training from time to time. And I don't like it when you disrespect me, like you just have. But…" His voice had been getting gradually quieter, "…the worst thing you can do to me is get yourself hurt."

"Eh—eh…" was all I could choke out. His kind tone struck me silent for several moments. I finally shook off the alien feeling he gave me and tried a different approach. "What does that mean? Tenshinhan, there's _no_ way that I'm going to get hurt if you're by me." I grinned and punched lightly at his shoulder (though my hand was still unsettled, he could probably tell). "You're too good for that to happen. And when you're _not_ around, I can take care of myself. Right?"

He stared back at me with his three eyes for some time before returning the smile. "Right. That's fine. But… are you sure that you're okay?"

"I'm fine! I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be? Don't worry about it."

When we landed, I capsulized the car again and put it in my box. "We're back home," I said nonchalantly, trying to make it as some sort of end to the night we had.

Tenshinhan must have told Chouzu to run ahead into the house, because the little guy sprinted off quickly, announcing that he was going to bed.

I was about to go in as well when Tenshinhan spoke, "You've been calling this 'home' now?"

"Well, why not? I've lived here for 2 years already. It's like a home to me."

"I see." He moved to wrap his arms around me and kissed me softly. "The whole purpose of this date was to get me more comfortable around you, right?"

I leaned into his embrace. "Yeah…"

"And wearing that teddy? Was that part of it?"

"…It was. Though I wasn't planning to make an exhibition of it…"

"Heh…"

"…But then again, you didn't plan to make an exhibition of your boxers at the tournament, I'm sure."

He winced. "You really know how to hit a guy where it hurts, don't you?"

"I try."

A chuckle came from his throat and he shrugged. "I suppose I should expect such things from my Kushami. Would it surprise you if I said that I felt quite comfortable right now?"

I looked up at him skeptically. "Yes! You were so angry earlier."

"I was… but I've had a problem understanding you until now." He bowed his head and kissed my forehead through my hair. "I approach most things seriously. When fighting, I have to be prepared for spontaneous things, and since you're the most random person I've ever met, that attitude holds over."

"I don't understand…"

"Well, what I mean is, I keep forgetting that things with you go along more easily if I just go with it. It's a lot more fun than keeping on edge and panicking all of the time, after all."

I smiled and nuzzled into his now-opened jacket. "Yeah, it _is_ a lot more fun, isn't it?"

"Kushami."

"Hmm?"

I felt him playfully tug at one of the spaghetti straps that crossed the back of the dress. "Don't think that I forgot that offer."

**.-T-.**

I had fallen into a dreamless sleep again, but this time I was much more comfortable. I felt like I was swimming in warmth. My energy was totally spent, but this time, my exhaustion wasn't associated with sore muscles or cricks in my neck. This was the first time that I shared a bed with someone, and I never imagined that I would feel such repose.

For some time, Kushami slept peacefully beside me, hugging my arm like she did when we spent that night in the woods together. But she had shifted away from me in the bed a little while ago, the lack of heat rousing me enough to hear her mumble something incoherent in her sleep. _She's having a dream... Cute._ I rolled over behind her and clasped her against me, eager to feel her warmth again.

She made a noise again. It didn't strike to me what it was at first, and I disregarded it, too tired to be willing to think on it. My third eye, which doesn't close but is often unfocused when I sleep, sensed there was something different. Then it hit me. That noise was a sneeze. My two other eyes flew open. Right below my face, I could see that the previously golden locks had disappeared, replaced by purple hair.

"Wuaauaah—!" I scrambled backwards and ended up falling on the floor. The commotion I made must have woken her, as I heard her sigh and rustle in the bed. I panicked and felt around me, looking for something to cover myself with. _Don't I have a robe somewhere? I can't use the sheet. I have to put **something** on. She'll get the wrong idea… or the right idea…Damnit, how did this happen anyway? Why did she suddenly decide to sneeze **now**?_

"Are?" Lunch sat straight up and looked around her, her eyes squinted and groggy. "Where am I?" She turned into my view, still trying to discern shapes in the darkness. Then I saw the culprit: a couple of small, white feathers, clinging to her hair. _Grr… How could I forget what my pillows were stuffed with!_ I pulled the sheets that fell with me to the floor over myself, being the only thing I could do now.

Her vision finally focused enough to make out my image, and she blinked wildly, apparently in disbelief. "Tenshinhan?"

"Y-yeah." I felt a bead of sweat run down my temple, but I managed a smile, nervous though it was.

"Why am I in your room? And why are you on the floor?"

"It's—it's all very hard to explain…"

She looked down on herself, and her eyes grew wide. "W-what am I wearing?" She said while pulling tight the loosened orange ribbons on the lacy garment that was now only hanging off of her instead of actually being worn. "Did you… and I… while I was transformed…?" Her blush was so furious; she looked like she was glowing red in the darkness.

A drooping, ashamed frown came on my face and I bored my eyes through the sheet that I now held over my lap. I wanted to sprint out of there, but it seemed weird that I should be the one to escape from my own bedroom. Luckily, Lunch took the initiative and politely excused herself, slinking her way out the door and shutting it behind her. I exhaled in relief that the awkward situation had passed, but I still felt terrible. I crawled back into my bed and snatched the covers over my head.

The next morning, I hurried through the breakfast and went immediately to training, only passing a few words to Lunch to not seem rude. As much as I might have enjoyed the night before, that was with Kushami. Lunch, on the other hand, woke up only to figure out what happened.

_Having a girlfriend who's only one of two personalities is frustrating._ I went about my training routines with Chouzu, instantly pouring all of my concentration into it. We had been an hour into it when I sensed a ki approaching. I stopped and watched the path that came to my house. Chouzu made a noise of confusion then proceeded to do the same. A vehicle became visible, and it wasn't long before it was pulling up right beside us. The driver exited and held up two fingers in a V.

"Yo!" Kame Sennin greeted us, his sunglasses gleaming in the brilliant sun of this area. "How are you, Tenshinhan? Chouzu?"

I blinked. "Muten Roshi-sama? What are you doing here?"

He lowered his hand and placed it behind his back. "I just wanted to check on you kids and make sure that you're doing well…" He knelt his head and peered around me. "Say, is Lunch-san here with you?"

* * *

Seismophobia – Fear of Earthquakes, which Kushami, according to the series, _does_ have.  
I went through the DBZ section, and I never realized before that there were so many Ten/Lunch fics. Wow.  
…Well, there's more than 3 or 4 anyway… 


	12. Muten Roshi no Oshie

Disclaimer: Wow. I'm pretty sure that it's in chapter one. –Must say this each time, or the rabid lawyers that live in my closet will come and get me o.O-

Okay, I didn't expect this fic to get this many chapters when I started out. I guess that's something that just sort of happens when I start fics… they never do make it to be so bloody long in my mind, but then I type them and I confuse myself. Weee… maybe I should shut up more in the A/Ns.

**

* * *

.-L-.**

Tenshinhan got in and out of breakfast so quick that I couldn't ask him anything about the night before. Of course I wanted to know what happened, though. It's not everyday (or night) that I wake up in a strange man's bed scarcely dressed! Well, maybe "strange man" isn't the best way to refer to Tenshinhan since I know him pretty well, but he _is_ strange. I wanted to know if that was the first time, or if I, while transformed, does that with him often, or if I went in there without his permission (my transformed self is a lot more bold than I am, sometimes), or if it was something completely different. He seemed to know what was happening, but he said it was hard to explain.

"Oh dear!" I knocked over a candlestick while dusting. I frowned, picked it up, checked to make sure that it wasn't harmed, and placed it back on the shelf it stood on before. "I should really watch what I'm doing, but this situation has confused me so much, I don't know what to think!"

Then something on the shelf caught my attention. It was a little book that Tenshinhan never touched (I know because it accumulates dust pretty quickly, and it was one of the dustiest things in the house when I first cleaned). I pulled it out and looked on the front, then realized that it was in English and that I was looking at the back. I quickly flipped it and read the title. "The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. No wonder Tenshinhan doesn't use this! He doesn't know English!" Then I flipped through some of the pages. "But why does he even have it in the first place? I bet its Chouzu's."

Then something struck me, and I found myself looking up a specific word. I found it:

"**is·che·mi·a**  
_n._

A decrease in the blood supply to a bodily organ, tissue, or part caused by constriction or obstruction of the blood vessels."

I blinked and looked up a different word:

"**hy·pox·i·a**  
_n._

Deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching body tissues."

I closed the book and stood silent for a while. "I've never heard those words before… why did I just look them up all of the sudden?" I shrugged and put it back in the shelf. There were a lot of things that I didn't understand about myself. Like why I'm fluent in English _and_ Japanese. I don't know any other languages, and I rarely have any use for knowing English (I tried working as a translator once, but I had… problems keeping that job, as I did with any other). I always assumed that it might be because I learned it while transformed at some point, since it might make it easier to find things that I would want to steal in English newspapers or something.

I went about my business with cleaning, now thinking about what to cook for Tenshinhan and Chouzu for lunch, when I heard their voices outside. _That's strange; they rarely talk when they're training._ But a recognized a third voice; one that was older, deeper, and very, _very_ familiar. I smiled and went to the door and opened it. "Kame Sennin!" I greeted, smiling.

"Hmm? Yo!" The old turtle master waved back at me and walked closer. "Have you been doing well, Lunch-san?"

"Mhm! Tenshinhan and Chouzu treat me very well!"

"Do they now?" He looked back at the two. Chouzu grinned widely, but Tenshinhan bowed his head and blushed. Kame Sennin's face turned back to me. "Well, that's good to know!"

"But… what are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you, Lunch-san! You might not be my maid anymore, but that doesn't mean that I don't worry about your welfare. Especially considering that your 'roommates' are former disciples of my rival."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tenshinhan's face shot up and his eyes turned into a slightly insulted glare.

Kame Sennin turned and gave him a motion to calm down. "Now, now. I wasn't questioning your principles, Tenshinhan. I know that you're much too reliable to think that way. Who I'm questioning is Tsuru Sennin."

**.-T-.**

Coming back inside for lunch, I found that Kame Sennin had made himself comfortable, watching the TV, and from time to time, ogling Lunch up and down. I inwardly sighed. _Does he actually think that he's being **covert** in his habits, or does he not **care**?_ What really confused me was that Lunch never seemed to notice. Oh sure, Kushami would see it. Hell, Kushami would suspect it from any man who was within her personal space, no matter _what_ their real intentions were. But Lunch was far too naïve. It made me wonder what happened while she was living with Kame Sennin.

"The meal will be done soon!" Lunch crooned, "It's a little late since I have to cook more for our guest!" She dashed back into the kitchen.

Chouzu followed. "I'll help!"

"Muten Roshi-sama," I tried to call his attention from the exercise program. It took multiple attempts before he actually pulled himself away from it.

"Yes, yes. What is it, Tenshinhan?"

"You said that you were worried about Tsuru Sennin-sama harming Lunch?"

His face turned serious quickly, and he nodded.

My eyes lowered. "I told him and TaoPaiPai-sama to never appear before Chouzu and I again."

"And he probably wont. I'm sure that the two are afraid of you now. You beat TaoPaiPai without needing to use much of your own power and technique." He crossed his arms. "Although I could tell that it wasn't an easy victory for you, Tenshinhan. You seemed to be having a bit of an emotional quarrel, having to disgrace your old master like that.

"But because he wont mess with you _directly_ doesn't mean that he wont still act _against_ you. Lunch-san is not only associated with you, but with me as well. She's a good target. Even her chaotic form, Kushami, can easily be overpowered by either of the brothers."

This was true. What Kushami had going for her was intimidation, but that was Tsuru Sennin and TaoPaiPai's specialty. If she couldn't scare them into submission, there was no way that she was going to protect herself, no matter what kind of firearms she might have, no matter how quickly she might draw a gun from a capsule and make it look like she plucked it out of thin air. "Did you get any leads on this? Do you know if they really are planning to do something to her?"

His brows got tighter, and his sunglasses flashed. "TaoPaiPai appeared at Kame House looking for her."

My heart skipped a beat. _TaoPaiPai-sama did…_

"It was while I was out getting groceries. Kuririn sensed someone moving around upstairs and he went to check if something came in through a window. He said that he thought at first that it was Lunch-san might have come back since the noise was coming from her room, so he called a greeting for her as he opened the door.

"TaoPaiPai was standing there, looking at some of Lunch-san's things. The room had been rummaged through. When Kuririn entered, he only smiled and said, 'I came to speak with Miss Lunch, but I can tell that she hasn't been here for a long time.'

"Kuririn naturally asked what he wanted with Lunch-san, and he answered, 'I would like to ask Ten the same question, but I decided to find out myself. I did research on her; her situation is quite… interesting.' By this point, Kuririn attacked him, but TaoPaiPai disappeared quickly. That's how Kuririn told me it went, anyway."

I hesitated before speaking. "TaoPaiPai-sama has targeted Lunch?"

"It certainly appears that way…"

I swallowed and stared intensely into the floorboards.

"Hey, Tenshinhan." He turned back to his lecherous self. "You really are going out with her now, aren't you?"

The abrupt change of mood made my brows rise and delayed my answer. "Ah, well… I'm going out with _Kushami_…"

"Hmm? Is that so? Not Lunch as well?" He brought a hand to his chin. "I guess you didn't notice it, yet."

"Notice what?"

"Well, you know that they're two different people in many ways, but in some ways, they're the same. When Lunch first came to our household, Kushami disliked and attacked everyone she saw. However, she suddenly didn't do it as much anymore, and she began to care for the welfare of Kuririn and Goku. Kushami probably wouldn't have let us grow on her, but Lunch did, and it carried over to Kushami."

"I see, but what's the importance of this?"

"Well… Kushami had an instant liking for you, and Lunch, well, she began to follow in suit. Did you really not notice it? She was always more excited to see you than anyone else." He crossed his arms. "You're really one lucky guy. You have two girls here, both beautiful, devoted to you, and best of all, both the same girl, so you can't technically cheat on her!"

I would have rolled my eyes, but I was too preoccupied with what he said about Lunch's feelings. _Feelings like that carrying over… I guess that would sort of explain how her cooking is so similar to that restaurant…_ "Muten Roshi-sama, does anything else carry over like that? After all, it seems that they are completely different people. They don't even _look_ similar…"

"Now, Tenshinhan. They have subtle similarities. Now, its true, they certainly can't pass as twins, but I could believe them as sisters."

"But they don't even think of the other in the same way," I continued, "When Kushami speaks of Lunch, it's as though she speaks of a different person, but when Lunch speaks of Kushami, she's regarded as an extension of herself."

"Oh, you noticed that, huh? And you didn't notice Lunch's feelings towards you? Your three eyes must have some blind spots."

My brows twitched at the comment, and I pulled out some sort of logical-sounding reason out of my head quickly. "Even if Lunch had similar feelings, they don't seem to be as strong in her as they are in Kushami… And don't say that it's because Kushami does everything in vehemence; with or without that, Lunch is definitely more emotional and willing to express such feelings."

Kame Sennin nodded. "That's true. Buuuuut you shouldn't let that worry you! After all, if you date Kushami-san, where would that leave Lunch-san? If she doesn't love you as well, who else is she going to love?"

_That's a very serious and important question…_ I thought.

He added in, "…Unless you're willing to share, of course."

"I'm sorry for the wait!" Lunch chimed in, "The food is ready!"

**.-L-.**

It's really nice to see Kame Sennin again! He hasn't changed a bit since I left Kame House about… 3 years ago now? It's been so long… it's hard to keep track of time anymore. I know that I've been living with Tenshinhan and Chouzu for over 2 years, but there were several months before that when I was apparently just wandering around. I guess the other me was looking for Tenshinhan, or something. Yeah, that makes sense.

Even though I'm happy to see the hermit again, I can't help but get nervous about how Tenshinhan is staring at me. I don't think he wants me to notice, because he averts his eyes each time I look back at him, but it is kind of obvious. I want to ask him if he's staring like that because of what happened last night, but there's no way that I can bring that up in front of Kame Sennin and Chouzu!

"Lunch-san," Kame Sennin called me aside as I took my own dish up before anyone else to wash. "You seem very nervous about something, especially with that huge blush. Is something bothering you?"

"O-of course not!" I turned around shakily, my eyes wide open as I tried to laugh it off, but I knocked my elbow into a stack of plates and one fell and broke on the floor. "Oh my goodness, I'm sorry! Let me get that!" I pulled out a plastic bag and knelt down to gather the shattered dish. I picked up a bunch of pieces and tossed them into the bag. Some dust from the floor floated close to my face and…

_**Achoo!**_

**.-K-.**

I stood up and rubbed my nose. What's in my hands? I looked down to a green grocery bag in one hand and some porcelain shards in the other. "Huh?"

"He-hello, Kushami-san." I looked over to the table. There was Kame Sennin, looking as nervous as he always did when around me, as well as Tenshinhan and Chouzu, who just stared.

"What are you doing here, Jiji?" I growled at the old man.

He laughed nervously and wiped his head with a cloth. "I just came to see how you kids were doing! A little social call; nothing wrong with that. Completely innocent."

"Hmm…" I glared forward, but now I was preoccupied with trying to figure out what I was doing last. It didn't yield a clue to why I was picking up pieces of broken dishware, but the last thing I remembered was… falling asleep in Tenshinhan's bed. _But I don't remember waking up…_ My glare shifted over to him. "Ten-shin-han…"

The way I separated his name seemed to make him a little anxious. "Yes, Kushami?"

"Did I transform into that girl while I was asleep in your bed?"

Kame Sennin and Chouzu both tennis-ball-eyed between Tenshinhan and I. He coughed. "You did… why?"

I sneered. "You didn't do anything to her, did you?"

"What? No!" He was alarmed now. I guess he was insulted. "Don't tell me that you're jealous of yourself!"

"I'm serious, Tenshinhan!"

"So am I! I didn't do anything!"

"Tenshinhan! If I find out that you took advantage of Lunch…!"

"Wait…" He blinked and raised a brow. "You're angry because…?"

I crossed my arms. "Lunch is a very naïve girl. I usually have to protect her from people who might use her."

There was a pause before he spoke again, this time somewhat angry. "And you honestly think that I would do something like that?"

"Uh… well…" I thought for a moment. "I guess not. That would be really weird for you since you don't do things like that. So what _did_ happen?"

Tenshinhan turned himself into a direction away from Chouzu and Kame Sennin, I guess deciding whether or not he should say anything. "She woke up and left to her own bed before the sun rose."

"Huh? Is that all?" _That's actually kinda boring…_

"Yes. That's all that happened."

I crossed my arms and bowed my head to think. "Hmm…" I nodded and looked back up at him. "Wakarimashita. As long as you don't force her into anything."

A bit of tension seemed to fall off of him. "And you're not jealous?"

"No. Why would I be?"

* * *

Jiji – Basically a colloquial way of saying "old man".  
Wakarimashita – "Understood", "I understand" (the former is more literal). Even though it does fit this situation, I was really just looking for an excuse to use it. :p  
I own a copy of that dictionary that I mentioned, but not the company that owns the rights. The definitions, however, were taken directly from dictionary-dot-com (also not owned by me), since they weren't even _in_ the Merriam-Webster dictionary. 


	13. Shinto Shambles

Disclaimer: Chapter one. Ding!

Okay, since I often don't think up the names of the chapters until after I finish writing and editing them, I didn't tell you what the last chapter's name meant. "Muten Roshi no Oshie" is the name of a Japanese DBZ song (sung by Kame Sennin's seiyuu) and means "The Teachings of Muten Roshi".

**

* * *

.-T-.**

Muten Roshi-sama took his leave soon after Lunch's transformation, and about the same time, I returned to my training outside. The problems that he had placed before me were not considered until I went back inside for dinner. Chouzu wasn't finished with the cooking yet, and Kushami was no where in sight, so I sat back down on the couch and started to think out the situation, covering my two lower eyes with a hand and kneeling over to hide my expression while my third was left exposed to keep watch.

Concerning the problems, the first solution I came up with was breaking it with her and asking her to leave, which was met immediately with chest pain and nausea before being rejected. Best-case scenario: the house is reduced to a smoldering pile of rubble and she stays anyway, and TaoPaiPai never comes after her. Worst-case scenario: Kushami actually cries and stomps out of my life forever angrily, and I don't find out till many years later that she'd been killed.

_It wouldn't work well, anyway. Even if I told Lunch to leave and she obliged, as soon as she sneezed, Kushami would be running back. And her leaving just makes her more open to TaoPaiPai-sama's assault._ I groaned and tried to think of another solution. The situation with Lunch's feelings (as important as it was) was second to the prospect of TaoPaiPai. Having either or both personalities hate me from ignoring them was preferable to their getting killed, which I felt I could never forgive myself if I let it happen.

_I guess the best thing to do would be to get Kushami to stay home more. _That would be met with tension, and I knew it. Kushami went out more often than the rest of us since she never had anything better to do while I was training. Since the incident with the Alice Stone it had been less frequent, and she now _snuck_ out instead of trotting off and hopping on her bike, even when she was just going to practice her shooting. _Where the Hell is she now?_

I could tell she wasn't in the house; when she was, she was usually either working with some weapons or watching T.V., both rather noisy activities. Same goes with showering. And I couldn't recall seeing the birds flutter in groups or hearing gunshots outside after training recommenced. _**No**…She snuck out when I wasn't paying attention! God no. Not now. Not so soon after this news with TaoPaiPai-sama!_

I practically jumped up and shouted in the direction of the kitchen. "Chouzu! Do you have any idea where Kushami went?"

Instead of yelling back, Chouzu projected the message telepathically. _She left a note saying that she went to the market for groceries. We are getting low on food, so she probably didn't run off to do something dangerous, Ten-san._

I felt some relief wash through. At least I had a lead on where she could be, if nothing else. But her going off to do something dangerous didn't bother me as much as her just being out. I announced that I would soon return with her set off myself, hoping to intercept her along the way.

**.-L-.**

"Are?" I wasn't at Tenshinhan's house, anymore. I was… in a car. There was a steel grating separating the front seat and me. _Oh no… I got arrested again! But wait… how did I get caught? I usually don't get caught until I change back…_

The officer on the passenger's side looked back at me with a smile, sunglasses hiding his eyes. "Well, miss, we're almost at the—" He paused when he looked at me. "Eh? I would have sworn you were a blonde…"

Not able to say anything about it, I only laughed and shrugged.

"Oh well. It doesn't matter. Like I was sayin', we're almost to the shrine you wanted to see. I don't know why a pretty little thing like you would suddenly have an impulse to see it while shopping for food, though."

The driver, who was older (I could tell from his gray hair), made an unsatisfied grunt. "I don't want people thinking that the patrol cars are nothing more than a free taxi ride."

"Aww, c'mon Konjo! It's not like we do anything else in this town anyway! Might as well help a girl out every once in a while. Besides, its not like it's out of the way! Miss, if you're done with the place by the time we pass by it again on patrol, we could take ya' home if it's not too far away."

When they dropped me off, I picked up my grocery bags and bowed to them. "Arigatou Gozaimasu."

They both blushed, the older looked ahead at the road, while the other scratched his head with a grin and said, "Iie, we're happy to do it, right Konjo-san?"

Konjo coughed. "Well, helping the citizens is our duty. But we have to go."

"Alright, alright… nag…" He waved at me as they drove off. I waved back until they were out of sight, then looked at the shrine, wondering why I wanted to go there in the first place, and why I was willing to take a ride from the _police_ to get there.

It looked like a normal Shinto shrine, except it didn't have a big staircase in front that I was used to for bigger shrines, and it looked _really_ rundown. _I guess there's no one here to take care of it,_ I thought. There were holes in the walls and roof, and it made me frown. I bet it used to look really pretty, too. _Well, I guess I didn't come here to steal something. There couldn't possibly be anything here that I would think is worth taking._

I sighed and sat on a stone with the groceries beside me, looking sadly at the shrine. _Since those nice men went through the trouble to come here, I guess I should stay a little while, especially since I probably came here for a reason… but it's so sad to look at. _I began to think of how it might have gotten abandoned in the first place, which only made me feel worse. I gave another sigh and wrapped my arms around myself, feeling cold, and decided to get up and move around.

I was afraid to actually go inside the shrine, so I walked around the courtyard, circling the trees and stooping to look at the shimenawa that still managed to keep tied around once of the trees, though the gohei had been gone a long time. Then I would continue to look around, stopping at the old ema rack.

I started to read some of the wishes on the ema out of curiosity. There were a lot about wanting to pass entrance exams, some about getting promoted at work, and mostly average things like that. Then I came to one in a girl's handwriting, along with a short prayer, that said:

"Please help me find my true love."

A lot of time must have passed while I stared at that one ema. I don't know why I stopped at that one since that's a pretty common thing to ask for on an ema, but I kept running it over in my head.

"Lunch," a voice said behind me.

I screamed out of surprise and spun around, almost falling back into the ema rack in the process. It was Tenshinhan.

He looked at me a bit wide-eyed and tensed up a little. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that I would surprise you like that."

I pulled my hand from my face and smiled, even though my cheeks were burning hot. "No. It's okay. I'm fine."

"That's good to know," he said, smiling back at me, "but… what are you doing at this old shrine? I searched the whole market in town looking for you."

I frowned. "I don't know why I'm here. I sneezed and was already in a car and this is where they dropped me off."

"Really?" He seemed to get a little worried again. "Did you know the driver of the car?"

I shook my head. "It was a couple of police officers on patrol, though."

"Wha! You mean you were in a _police_ car?"

I nodded.

"And you weren't under arrest or anything like that?"

"No… I don't really get it, either. They were really nice, though," I said, "And they said that I wanted to come here, too."

"I guess Kushami had a reason, then…" He sighed. "But it doesn't make it any less strange."

He was silent for a little, looking around at the shrine. "This place has been abandoned for a while, huh? I haven't been here in years…"

"Eh? You know it?"

"Yeah… I've lived by this town before when I was younger. But I rarely went in town since I didn't have a reason to, and I came here even less."

"Do you know why it was abandoned?"

"No clue. It must have been after I left the area."

"Hmm…" A breeze came through in the next silence, and…

_**Achoo!**_

**.-K-.**

I looked around myself. _Well, I must have sneezed in the car, but I got here anyway. Lunch must not have said anything stupid and gotten us arrested by those cops. Wait… what the Hell is Tenshinhan doing here!_

"Uh… well, since you're here, Kushami," he began, "you can tell me what you were planning to do in this place."

I stepped back from him a bit, still confused on seeing him there, then a thought ran across my mind. "Oh god, where're the groceries?" I started to search around frantically. "Do _not_ tell me that she left them in that patrol car."

"They're right there, I believe." Tenshinhan pointed at a couple of brown bags on the ground. I sprinted to them and started going through the contents, and pulled out my purse, then checked inside to make sure that everything was alright, and then put it back and pulled out the Alice Stone.

"You still _have_ that?" Tenshinhan's voice betrayed some frustration.

I grinned up at him. "Yup. What'd you expect me to do? Toss it out the window? After all I went through getting the damn thing?"

"I thought you sold it or something."

"No way. Its potential raise in asking price is too high to just _sell_ it immediately after getting it. I brought it here to hide a couple of years."

"What? Why here?"

"'Cause it's out of the way, and people have been saying it's haunted and stuff like that. I always hide stuff like this. It's usually better than keeping it near if another thief tries to take it from me or if I get arrested. Besides… it's not like I can go to the _bank_."

"Speaking about getting _arrested_… what's the idea of getting here via _patrol car_?"

"Hey, they offered me the ride, not the other way around. I figured it would work all the same…" I smirked. "Besides, it's fun using the police to smuggle your goods right under their noses."

"And you weren't worried about what could've happened?"

"Of course I was worried! Why do you think I panicked when I didn't have the groceries in hand? Even if they found the Alice Stone and didn't know what it was, my _ID_ was in my purse."

I guess that worked well enough, because he finished the lecture there. "Well, hurry up and hide the thing, then." He strolled over to the torii and leaned against one pole, crossing his arms. "We're going home after you're finished."

"Sure, sure." I walked past him and into the front chamber. The place was dark and dirty, with parts off the wall falling off and hanging oddly from the amount of decay the place was in. _At least it doesn't have a rank stench to go along with it._ "Ah," I said aloud, "There's a good place."

I walked and went to my knees before a small expanse of exposed dirt beside a disheveled floorboard. I dug a little beside and under the floorboard until there was a whole large enough for the stone and buried it, and then stood to stomp on it, making sure it was packed well.

Something in my instinct snapped, and I turned around quickly with a gasp. There was nothing there. I pulled out a gun and scanned the room, moving the barrel to and fro, but I didn't sense anything in the room with me. _Weird… it felt like someone was behind me._ I put the gun away and shook my head at myself. _It must be the atmosphere. No wonder people think this place is haunted._

I exited and patted the dirt off my hands, then went over to pick up the groceries. "Okay. I'm finished. Lets go."

Tenshinhan stepped away from the torii and towards me. He wrapped his arms around me to prepare to fly us away, but his arms were incredibly rigid. "Tenshinhan!"

"What?"

"You're being awkward around me again! Is it really that hard to be around me?"

My words were kind of harsh, as they made him repeal from me a few steps. "Ah… no. It's nothing like that, Kushami. It has nothing to do with you… in particular anyway…"

"Huh?"

He sighed and looked to the side. "Its… Lunch."

"What about her? Does she not like you?" I crossed my arms in thought. "I would have sworn that she felt the same way for you as I did."

"…" Tenshinhan just stared at me for a while.

"What're you lookin' at?"

"Err… that is…" he hesitated again, "…you _want_ her to like me?"

_What a stupid question!_ "Of course I do! Sheesh… if she didn't, that would leave me in a bad spot, wouldn't it?" Then I think I figured it out. "Wait… do _you_ not like her the same way?"

He looked away tentatively. _Bingo._ "Baaaka! People usually like her before they have any positive feelings towards me! Why do _you_ have to be the first person to do otherwise?" A sigh came from him, and I could tell that he wanted to retort, but I continued before he could get a word in. "Why not just relax and let things go? You said yourself that it's much more fun to just go with it."

"It's not that easy this time…"

"Yes it is! Look…" I stretched up and kissed him, pushing up against him so he couldn't back out of it. A few moments passed and he leaned into it as well, and I was soon picked up in his arms and held warmly against his chest.

I broke the kiss and grinned up at him again. "See?"

He chuckled a little. "Damn you, you abnormal thing. Why do you have to be so good at manipulating me?"

"Hey, you do the same thing. I swear you're flaunting yourself off and teasing me when you're training sometimes."

"That's absurd!"

"Don't lie! There's no way you can be that sexy _by accident_."

Instead of defending himself, he kissed me again and held me tighter. "Fine, Miss Kushami. Let's just go home. Our dinner's probably cold by now and Chouzu's probably getting worried." It only took a nod for him to begin flying.

As I thought about the contrast of cold air rushing against me and the warmth of his grasp, he said, "One more thing…"

"Yes?"

"Some… news came up recently and… I would like you to stay home tomorrow if you could."

* * *

Shimenawa – One of those ropes that are tied around trees and such in anime. One is tied around Goshinboku in InuYasha.  
Gohei – The pieces of white rice paper that hang from said ropes.  
Ema – Wood plaque that you write a wish on and leave at the shrine.  
Torii – Gateway before a Shinto shrine.  
Sorry for the big vocabulary lesson. The next chapter may be a while since I'm going back to college next week. 


	14. Jail Cell Eyes

Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say it? The first chapter! The first one! Baaaaahggh….

What? No reviews for that last chapter _yet_? Did my reviewers get kidnapped by the schools again, or were they swept away? Well, it's a good thing that I already knew what to do for _this _chapter.  
Now we get to the beginning of the _real_ hitch. Heh heh…

**

* * *

.-K-.**

"Where does he get off in… I can't even… grrr… **_damnit Tenshinhan!_**" I complained in frustration. He was really driving me up the walls now. Before I knew it, I was a prisoner in his house, not even allowed to go to the store or to train shooting anymore. At first, I thought it was good since I was under the impression that he was going to spend more time with me, away from training for a bit. Nope. Tenshinhan still trained _all bloody day_, onlycoming in to eat and sleep.

Oh sure, he was getting more affectionate when he _did_ spend time with me, and I think he's starting to get more feelings for Lunch, but I still had around ten hours without stimulation. I had watched every movie he had in the house, and found that daytime television just seemed to make me even _more_ bored. I tried reading, but all of my books were about treasures and such that just made me want to get out and steal, and most of his books were old and covered with dust, so whenever I got them out, I would often sneeze before I could read it.

My right leg was twitching. I looked up at the clock again, eager for Tenshinhan to come back inside for his next meal. _What the! I swear it's going backwards now! How can it only be 10:11! _I stood and growled. _That's it! I can't stand it anymore! _Stomping to the exit, I pulled out an Uzi and flung the door open. **_BRATTATTATTAAT!_**

Chouzu, as usual, ran and hid behind Tenshinhan, whereas the triclops himself just dropped stance and turned his head at me. "Kushami?"

"I'm going out to rob a bank!" I shouted, my right arm still extended in the air with the gun. "If you try to stop me—" I brought the gun down and aimed ahead at him. "—I'll fill ya' both full of holes!" It was an empty threat, but I was still pissed.

Damn but does that man move fast! I might've blinked and missed the fluid action he made to move to me, take my gun, and pin me against him. "Please don't," he said in a soft, husky voice.

I bit my lip and tensed up. This is how it happened each time I tried to leave like this (this was probably my 6th outburst), and I always end up sulking back to house after he talks me into not leaving. "No! It isn't going to work this time!" I squirmed in his arms, trying to escape, which was utterly futile. "I've been stuck in your house for… I don't know how many months! But I _do_ know that I've been trapped in _real_ prisons for less!"

My last comment made him twitch enough for me to feel it, but he kept his grasp on me firm. "I'm sorry. I really am. But I can't let you."

"Why!"

He didn't answer my question. Instead, he closed his two lower eyes. "Please just bear with it for now, Kushami."

"No! You keep acting like I'll be gone forever every time I try to leave, but if you keep this shit up, I _really might_ leave forever!"

This shocked him into letting me go and allowing his arms to fall to his sides. "You… would really leave like that because of me?"

_Oh god, now he looks forlorn._ I cringed. I really hated it when he started to act sad like that. That was usually the thing that got me to give up and return to the house. "It's not like that, Tenshinhan… Y'know that I'll always come back t' ya', right?" I grinned a little at him, but I shot it down, not wanting to get defeated like this again. "But I feel like I'm suffocating. Just one bank, and I'll come back. I promise."

"Kushami…"

"Hey!" An idea came to mind. "You can even come with me! It's a little annoying to have you or Chouzu with me whenever you do let me go to the market or something, but I wouldn't mind this time! Hell, we could be unbeatable together! I wouldn't have to worry about cops or any of that nonsense."

He looked aghast.

"What? It's a good idea, isn't it? Besides, it's a part of my life as much as training is to yours."

"No. It isn't a good idea. Kushami, I'm sorry, but you have to _stay home_ for now. I promise it's only temporary."

I growled and glowered at him again. "I'm going!" I ran, reaching for the capsule that kept my Embrio bike.

**.-T-.**

Even by dinnertime, I felt horrible. I had to make Kushami sneeze with a feather after I caught her when she tried to make a run for it. Of course, Lunch doesn't mind having to stay home or being escorted by Chouzu when going to the market, so I never had to subdue her. But Kushami was getting more and more bellicose, and this was the first time I had to use force. I couldn't blame her at all for her feelings; even though I was used to _her_ being the overbearing, overprotective one, I was feeling like I was just as guilty.

Furthermore, since I started to keep her home, she began trying to pull my attentions more often, sometimes scolding me for spending so much time training outside. Even though I preferred this to her outbursts on being trapped, it was wearing more and more on my nerves. Training was important to me, more important now than it ever was before since it was one of the few things that kept my identity. I was no longer the student of Tsuru Sennin, training to replace his brother as an elite assassin. I was now a martial artist of my own right, and it was all I had anymore.

Except for my girls and Chouzu.

_My girls…_ That's how I referred to Kushami and Lunch now. After I allowed myself to recognize it, feelings started to form for Lunch as well. She certainly was a refreshing change from Kushami, and that made me love them both even more. They really do compliment each other. Although Lunch was pretty skittish at first when I started to show her affections as well. But it took little time for her to get used to it and return them.

Since Lunch was now the one here, she made dinner. She greeted us warmly and kissed me on the cheek, as if we had just come home from work or something of that sort. It made me feel a little better about what I did earlier that day, and I sat to the meal, feeling my spirits lift a little. _At least if I upset one, I'll always have the other._

During one of the moments Lunch had to leave the table to get another dish, Chouzu spoke up, "Ten-san. Do you think everything is okay now?"

I had told him before about what Kame Sennin said and asked him to keep an eye out as well. I projected to him (I was afraid Lunch might still overhear), _I don't know. I haven't seen any sign of TaoPaiPai-sama for quite some time. Have you?_

He shook his head. _Not one. Maybe he's given up._

_That's unlikely. He's probably just waiting. You know as well as I do that he can hold a grudge for longer than most people live… and usually does._

_But Ten-san… Kushami is…_

_I know, but it can't be helped. I'd rather have her hate me than dead._

**.-L-.**

It was late when I opened my eyes from the last sneeze. _So dark…_ After a few moments, I figured out that I was standing in my room at Tenshinhan's house. I looked over to the digital clock. It said 2:32 AM in those red lights. "What am I doing up so late?" I looked down at myself. I was still dressed in day clothes. I figured that I must have gone earlier that night and just came back, since I did stuff like that often anyway.

_I look really dirty, though. I guess I'll take a bath before I go to bed._" I went to the dresser and got out some nightclothes and towels and a robe in the dark. Then I raised my arms to take off my shirt, and I felt a sharp pain in my side. "Oww…"

I pulled the shirt up a little and looked. Even though it was dark, I could see a big bruise and a few scratches there. "I must have gone out and done something bad again…"

"_No, you were just a little foolish, Miss Itadaki,"_ a low voice said behind me. I spun around, but I couldn't see anyone there in the darkness. I reached out in front of me and felt around.

"W-whose there?" I said really softly, "Tenshinhan?" I kept turning around, trying to find who said it. Then I saw them…

A pair of gleaming red eyes.

I screamed and ran out of the room and down the hall to Tenshinhan's room, pounding on the door and shouting for him. When he opened the door, I ran into his arms and sobbed.

"Lunch! Lunch, what's wrong?"

"There's something in my room! There's something in my room! Oh Tenshinhan, it has red eyes and it spoke to me…and it called me something strange…I'm afraid to go back in there!"

"Shh. Calm down. Stay by my side and I'll go see what it is." He held me against him and went down the hall and opened the door. I clutched myself against him, afraid that it might jump out. He reached his hand inside over to the wall and flipped the switch.

There was nothing there.

I felt foolish, but Tenshinhan looked all around the room for me. If he found anything, he didn't say, but he did say that there doesn't appear to be anyone there now.

"By the way," he said, "Why are you dressed like that at this time of night?"

I shook my head. "I sneezed and was already like this. I've got a huge bruise on my side, and I'm all dirty, too." I pulled up the shirt a little to let him see the bruise.

"What could you have been doing to get that?"

"No idea. I guess I went out earlier."

After he helped me calm down a bit I took the bath I meant to take before and changed into bedclothes. But I still felt very worried about going to my bed alone again, so I knocked on Tenshinhan's door again and asked him to let me sleep with him that night. He agreed… I think, in a way, he was a little shaken up by it as well.

**.-T-.**

I had to come to a decision, and it wasn't easy. Just trying to protect Kushami and Lunch was not going to be enough. Kushami would escape regardless of what I try to say to her, and TaoPaiPai might be able to enter the premises without my knowing it.

So I decided to let Kushami leave whenever she wanted while keeping a closer eye on her when she was still home. My first move to this was asking Lunch the next morning to move out of the guest room and into my own. She blushed a really bright red, but she nodded in agreement. The only problem now was to get _Kushami_ to agree… which may be a problem since she's probably still angry with me.

That night before, when I searched the room, there wasn't really any evidence that TaoPaiPai-sama had been there, but I knew that would be the only reason (unless my girls also have a tendency to hallucinate). I did, however, find something that disturbed me a bit. There was a new package of those pills that suppress the sneezing reflex. I recalled how she said that she took them mainly when she was going on big heists or long trips… and that probably frightened me more than the idea of TaoPaiPai being there earlier.

There was nothing for me to do now except wait for Lunch to sneeze and Kushami to appear. But many days had passed, and I began to wonder if Lunch was the one taking the pills now… and I was hoping that I was right. The fights with Kushami, which had been growing more and more common, were making me gain as much contempt for her as she was getting for me, and this time, I was thinking that I was more in love with Lunch than her (which couldn't be farther from the truth, as I was too blind with frustration to realize then that the more I fought with Kushami, the more I loved her).

A few weeks had passed since the incident. I had just come inside from training for the day and went in the kitchen for dinner. But Lunch wasn't there… nor was there a meal prepared for us. This wasn't a too unusual occurrence, but it only meant one thing: Kushami was back.

Though usually when she comes back, she comes outside and tells Chouzu to do the cooking, unless she lost track of time. I assumed that was the reason and looked around the house for her as Chouzu took over the food preparation. But I couldn't find her. She wasn't in my room, she wasn't in the guest room… she wasn't even in the bathroom. I felt unease rise in me, and I started looking more frantically for her, calling out her name. When I was certain she wasn't in or around the house, I went back into the guest room for any clue I could find.

Her clothes, capsules, and the box of pills were _gone_.

* * *

Apparently, "Itadaki" is Lunch's surname (since she never uses it in the series or manga, I'm going to play up that she doesn't know/remember it herself). The pun behind this is probably from the phrase "Itadakimasu", which is commonly said in Japan as thanks before each meal (lit. means "I received"). "Itadaki" by itself like that becomes a noun that means "something received".  
So she's "received Lunch"… (insert innuendo) 


	15. Distant Fire

Disclaimer: Who got the memo? Err… I mean… it's in chapter one.

**

* * *

.-T-.**

I checked all the surrounding towns for any sign of Lunch or Kushami, taking part in a one-man search for several days. Chouzu kept trying to reason that she would return to the area eventually since she left some of her stolen goods behind in her hiding places nearby, but with TaoPaiPai out there, I wouldn't listen. But I returned to my routines after a week of worrying myself over her, feeling rather helpless on her fate.

It isn't to say that I stopped looking for her; I kept leaving connections behind to have me informed if they see her, and would often do checks in the surrounding area, sometimes taking some time out to get up to date with police lists and wanted posters (things she was prone to getting popularized in), and kept track of the obituaries (…just incase). _I can't understand it… I live out practically in the middle of nowhere, and Kushami was able to find me, but she gets the police chasing her all the time, and I can't find a trace of her!_ Her treasure hunting must have built up her skills for finding things more easily than others.

She had already been gone for a few months. I trained farther and farther away from the house, since it now seemed …for lack of a better word… _dead_. And it seemed to make things feel worse when Chouzu went ahead in to cook and I continued training… with such little movement in the house while I was outside alone. So I went further and further into the woods, away from the house, the clearing, and Kushami's own training area that hardly smells of gunpowder anymore.

Noon was approaching, and Chouzu announced that he was going back to the house to make soup. I felt like groaning about being tired of soup and asking for something else, but I was already getting tired and the effort of even projecting it to him didn't quite seem worth it. After he was out of sight, I stopped my exercises and sat down on a stump, wiping my brow and heaving a sigh. _Why am I even doing any of this anymore? I failed as a martial artist against Piccolo Daimaou's demons, I failed against Son Goku, and I might as well say that I failed at actually protecting someone rather than hurting them._

_Ten-san! Ten-san!_ Chouzu projected to me with a feverous energy. _Come quick to the house!_

I stood quickly. _What is it? Is someone there?_

_It's a fire! The whole place is burning!_

I turned to the direction of the house. Black smoke billowed over the trees into the contrastingly bright-blue sky, and the smell that went along with it now made itself noticed.

"_Shimatta!_" I was already bolting through the woods. _How could this happen, Chouzu?_

_There's somebody here, Ten-san. I think they did it._

**.-K-.**

_It's just a vacation… things are getting weird back with Tenshinhan, and I just need some time away… a little time away…_ I kept repeating this phrase in my head whenever I felt like I missed Tenshinhan. A part of me was truly nervous about leaving without giving him any notice, as if I had completely abandoned him. But I kept trying to assure myself with logic… telling myself that he will still be there training when I returned… since he had no reason to go elsewhere.

I've been doing crimes that are easier to do without being seen, lately. The burden of being on the run would probably agitate things back at Tenshinhan's more if I return. _Did I just think "if"? I meant "when"… **when** I return…_ It's a good thing I did research while being confined, since those jobs were more like getting forgotten artifacts and grave robbing… and I pulled these heists off so well, I made Laura Croft look like a common purse snatcher.

I had a few more specific things in mind, but first, I had to get another box of pills. I had to up the dosage a few times, and the bloody things are going faster than ever. But I had more reasons to be taking them than the jobs; I didn't want Lunch to feel the separation from Tenshinhan. I could tell that she was getting much closer to him, and I don't want a sudden gap between them to sever their relations…

At least I don't have to go through the same shit I had to in getting the first box of pills for this trip. That night I snuck out and I got myself surprised. Since I didn't have any money, I had to lift some from a store, and when I was running off, I felt like someone was behind me. I turned just in time to miss an upturned part of the sidewalk and fell… over a hill, onto a pile of wooden crates (a stupid move, made even dumber since I didn't see anyone behind me). A huge bruise developed on my side that was still present when I gained control of the body again.

That was months ago, of course. The bruise was long gone by now.

I didn't feel like celebrating my most recent achievement with a fancy restaurant menu, so I went to a dive off a main road and ordered a sandwich and a soda. The waitress wrote it down and scurried off quickly in her absurd-looking pink uniform and heels. She left the menu, so I looked at it a little longer, thinking about ordering a beer or something later… maybe a slice of cake too.

"I didn't expect you to come to this place to eat, Miss Itadaki," a voice said to my left. I ignored it at first, thinking that he was talking to someone else.

"What is it? Are you too tired from stealing that platinum scarab to acknowledge me?"

The mention of what I just stole made my eyes shoot to the speaker. A half-metal man with lenses for eyes stared back at me, a wide grin stretching out under a black mustache. "You're…"

"Lets have a friendly little conversation, Miss Itadaki Lunch."

**.-T-.**

The house that had been mine was in a furious blaze, and trying to save it now would be futile. Chouzu looked on with a dazed, frightened look. "Ten-san… who could have done this?"

Several names came to mind, but I struck most of them down. Of course, TaoPaiPai and Kushami were in this list, but TaoPaiPai doesn't work like this, and Kushami has no reason to do it… no matter how angry she might feel towards me.

I heard heavier footsteps off in the distance, near the right side of the house. I focused my gaze there and watched a masculine form emerge nearby the flames, lurching through the debris and paying no mind to the falling embers. The flaming red hair didn't strike any bells for the first few seconds… but I eventually recognized him. "Silver."

He smiled weakly and fell to the ground. "I do stupid things all the time. Burning down the house of a Tenkaichi Budokai champion probably ranks among the highest…" He dusted some soot off his sleeve. "What really makes it stupid is my reasons for it."

I plotted over and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him away from the fire that was on the last phase of eating away the building. "Explain."

"…_Hasuki_…" He drew the name out slowly, "She promised me that she wouldn't leave me again if I got the Alice Stone back." A dry, tired chuckle came from his throat. "I know that she's lying, but I _want_ to believe it, so here I am."

"That doesn't explain the fire."

"I couldn't find it, and I figured that it was just hidden somewhere in the house that I was overlooking. Burning the place down would not destroy the stone, and since the surface that this place takes up is pretty small, it wouldn't take as long to search through a pile of soot… I've learned that while in the Red Ribbon Army, looking for the Dragonballs. If it turned out to not be here, I would just search elsewhere."

"You didn't think that someone would notice?"

"The place didn't look like it was being kept up, so I figured you were all gone somewhere for a while."

_That's because Lunch isn't here, and Chouzu is already too busy with food… I'm just unwilling to enter the place when I can avoid it._

"I'm an idiot… so you can go ahead and kill me. I don't have any regrets, outside of letting myself get led by the nose by a woman."

"I'm not going to kill you," I said, "I've done enough of that over the years. I'm sick of it."

"What? But… I just burned down your house!"

"I don't care about that thing anymore. I couldn't stand going inside it. You actually did me a favor in destroying it." I turned to Chouzu. "We aren't bound here by anything, anymore."

"But… Ten-san…"

"If that's the case… can I ask a stupid question?" He looked up at me. "Do you know where the Alice Stone is?"

I had just checked the temple the day before, looking to see if Kushami had retrieved her treasure, maybe leaving a sign that she had been there. The place was as undisturbed as it had been each time I checked.

My answer was prompt. "I have no idea."

"I see…" He picked himself up and stood erect, looking at the sky. "It's funny, several years ago, I was a ruthless general and a strong fighter. No man could beat me in the ring. Then some kid named Son Goku comes along and wipes that all away with a few punches. I'm reduced to the lapdog of a thief-bitch… bored most of my life, being used as a shield and a tool. I'm… going to win back my strength." He began to stride forward towards the nearest road. "Then I can _truly_ die without regrets."

* * *

I don't own Tomb Raider, though I own a copy of one of the games.  
Apologies for the brevity of this chapter in comparison to most of the recent ones, but a lot of the information _has_ to wait till the next installment if I want to call myself a decent writer. 


	16. Near Chill

Disclaimer: It's in chapter one.

Check it out; I'm 20 years old now.

**

* * *

.-K-. **

"Let's have a friendly little conversation, Miss Itadaki Lunch."

I snorted and made a scowl at him. "'Friendly conversation' my ass. I remember you were trying to kill Tenshinhan, along with that geezer. You're probably going to kidnap or kill me to get back at him, aren't ya'?"

"Why, Miss Itadaki… I honestly want to talk." He slid down in front of me in the booth, his grin still pulling his fact. "Nothing attached."

"_Humph!_ Yeah, right! And what's with this 'Itadaki' crap? Are you trying to make some sort of stupid, perverted joke at my expense?"

"Why, it's _your_ surname… I suppose you've forgotten even that."

"…What?"

"I wondered who this woman was that Tenshinhan seemed to be so interested in and did a little bit of… _research_. I came upon some of the most interesting, perhaps even ironic, things. Itadaki Lunch, orphaned at the age of 4, diagnosed with Disassociative Identity Disorder at the age of 6, showed signs of transformation a year later. Could not maintain a relationship with any adopted parents and ran away from the orphanage at the age of 12. First known crime was committed at the age of 13, burglary. Do you remember any of that?"

My senses suddenly became hazy. "What are you talking about? I don't know about my past, and I don't care!"

"Really? You don't care about who your parents were?"

"I never had any parents!"

"You didn't simply spawn randomly into existence, although you might very well think that since you come and go with only a simple sneeze. Your father, Itadaki Zen, and your mother, maiden name Toffee Parkin, were both very prominent in the business world. They were both bilingual and often traveled away from their native countries, your father being from a Japanese-speaking country and your mother from an English one, and apparently met through these business transactions. They married and built a mansion in a small village, settling down and having a little girl.

"But just because they settled together doesn't mean they gave up commercial enterprise. They continued to gain capital and leverage, both being known as "two faced" for giving such pleasing demeanors in meetings and donating large sums to charity while ruining others' businesses and sometimes going so far as monopolizing industries without a single thought. One of their competitors put a hit out on them, and they were killed.

"So they were assassinated, but who put the hit out isn't as important—" That wrenching smile came back on his face. "—as the one who performed the hit."

I was starting to feel nauseous and dizzy, so I only glowered at him as a bead of cold sweat ran down my fevered temple.

"I'm sure that you know that I worked as an assassin for many years, and business competitors are a major market for me since they're among the few customers that can afford my prices. When I remembered that I was the one that killed your parents and thus orphaned you, I found it incredibly amusing. Of course, I don't remember too much of the incident; it was a relatively easy job. But I do remember a little purple-haired girl, and how I had brought my apprentice along for the ride, to show him the tricks.

"If Tenshinhan or Kame Sennin didn't already tell you, my brother and I trained Tenshinhan to be an assassin like me. So I periodically brought him with me to see my work and numb any queasiness he might have had towards death when he was much younger. I happened to bring him with me on that very same hit… _my_, what a coincidence! He watched your parents die as part of his training."

"And why should I believe you?" I yelled out, slamming my hands down onto the table as I stood above him, "You're just trying to make me hate Tenshinhan and pull us apart because you can't do anything else without him crippling your sorry ass!"

"Perhaps that's what I'm doing, but I am speaking the truth about your parents. If you want, you can do your own research."

"You could have tampered with the files."

"What? Honestly, do you know how hard it is to forge documents like that? Hell, a lot of things about them were in newspapers since they were so important… do you really expect me to mess with hundreds of copies of microfilm in libraries across the globe?"

"Well…you could be making up that you killed them and that you brought Tenshinhan with you to see it!"

"If I was going to make that up, couldn't I just as easily say that Tenshinhan was the one that killed them? He _has_ performed some hits himself, after all… or has he not told you that either?"

The oblivious-looking waitress finally came up with my sandwich and drink. "Here's your order, ma'am. Enjoy!" She glanced over at TaoPaiPai. "Oh! You moved! Should I bring your order over here?"

"No, that's fine," he said, "Just put it in a bag to go; I'll be leaving soon."

_You're damn right you'll be leaving soon._ I brought the plate closer to me, but didn't touch the sandwich, not taking my eyes off that cyborg.

She bowed and left us alone again. He made a small, amused laugh before opening his mouth again. "You truly have an interesting life story, Itadaki-chan."

"Whatever." I sneered and looked to the side. "Nothing you will say will change my feelings about Tenshinhan. As far as I'm concerned, I have no past."

"Is that so? Well, I can see your logic in that. Kushami didn't appear until a little before Lunch's sixth birthday, and she didn't get her blond hair and green eyes for another year. At that time, some MRIs and CAT scans were performed, and an inoperable, nonmalignant tumor was discovered, and they surmised that the transformation was the result of stimulation that occurred when she sneezed. Kushami was created by Lunch to cope with her parents' death, and the tumor was probably genetic fallback. You're nothing more than an imaginary friend connected to reality through a growth."

My temper got the best of me, and I moved to punch him in the face. It didn't work; he caught my wrist quickly. I struggled and pulled, trying to get my arm out of his metallic grip.

"Such futility…" TaoPaiPai smirked again and let me go, sending me back to hit the booth. I growled at him, but it only seemed to entertain him even more. He at length rose, just before the waitress came back with his order. She handed him the bag and accepted the money with a bow before sprinting away.

"Get out of my sight," I spat.

"Very well. I enjoyed this little conversation, Miss Itadaki. I'll see you around." He took his exit.

I sat in silence several minutes, boring a hole in the food with my eyes before swatting the dish and glass off onto the floor in one angry motion. I stood, dropped a wad of cash on the table, and left, not uttering a syllable.

-

A cold wind wafted through the air and into my body. I felt chilled to the core and shivered as I stared at the charred husk that used to be Tenshinhan's house. The black ruins had been this way for a good while, long abandoned by life. I didn't have a clue what happened _exactly_, but it looks like it was burned down… I couldn't tell if it was purposeful or not; even if I knew how to recognize arson, it had been this way too long to be able to get even an educated guess. What hasn't washed away with rain or blown away with wind was rotting and falling apart.

It took so long to convince myself to come back, since TaoPaiPai's words scratched terribly at me and I feared that I wouldn't be able to look at Tenshinhan the same way again… but another emotion began to eat that away: Curiosity. I wanted, more and more, to hear from Tenshinhan about my parents' death.

_There's no way he and Chouzu could get killed by a house fire,_ I rationalized, _Even if they were asleep, Tenshinhan would see it with his third eye and get out._ I stretched my arms up and went back towards my bike. "Looks like I've got some tracking to do!"

**.-T-.**

The waterfall rushed down my body as I meditated. The water was cold, and the sound was loud in my ears, but I had gotten used to it quickly. Chouzu stood by me, but I could tell that he wasn't meditating. I paid it little mind and continued my concentration, not allowing it to break.

We had found a great place for training; far from others, a huge waterfall for meditation, and lots of level, elevated ground nearby. I quickly got into intense training again… and had been doing so for a good while. I don't know how much time had passed since I left that last burned down house… I do know that the seasons have changed at least once (maybe twice… I remember the weather getting rather cold and then warm again). When it comes down to it, I don't really pay attention to time outside of day and night anymore. I've been training more diligently, and usually the concept of time fades into the background. I _am_ careful not to work too hard as to be a hazard to my health… although Chouzu probably does more to keep me from overdoing it than I do.

Since our previous place burned down, I guess my interest in Martial Arts had gotten the boost it needed. Before… without something there to distract me… I became oppressed under the weight of Son Goku's superiority as a fighter. It looked hopeless… and I felt like giving it up. But I wanted to get better again… and surpass Son Goku, or at the very least not get left behind.

I sensed Chouzu leave from the rushing water, and soon after heard something that sounded like… a submachine gun firing. My lower eyes popped open and my concentration broke. I ran out from under the water and looked down on the level rock formation that extended from the canyon by the falls. A single figure stood beside a single-wheeled bike with her gun pointed high.

"Oi! Tenshinhan! Chap!" Kushami called up at me. "Geez… do you know how hard it was to find you guys _this_ time? You're out in the middle of fucking _nowhere_, without a house, no messages left behind; I had very little to work with!"

My eyes were stuck on her, unable to comprehend her presence. _It's impossible. Utterly impossible._

Instead of getting paralyzed by doubt like me, Chouzu made a gleeful laugh and flew down to hug her. "Kushami-san! It's good to see you again!" I hesitated, but Chouzu shouted back "Ten-san! Come on!" so I had to follow.

When I landed, I expected Kushami to run up and hug me as well… or at least threaten to shoot me. But she just smiled at me and said, "I'm going to stick around, so I hope you don't mind me using a house capsule over here. I want you guys to use it too, of course."

"We don't mind at all! Right, Ten-san?"

I nodded. "But we shouldn't infringe on you by living in there as well."

My remark seemed to strike Chouzu cold, but Kushami merely waved it away. "Nonsense," she said, "My capsule houses are usually pretty big; there'll be plenty of room."

"If you insist." I went back towards the edge of the formation. "Lets go back to training, Chouzu." I quickly flew back to the rock, making Chouzu call after me in a worried tone.

I _did_ feel reassurance from seeing her back and alive… and a lot of it. But I had never seen her give such a forced smile before… and I don't think Chouzu noticed how hollow she her voice sounded.

* * *

I made up Lunch's parents' names.  
Zen – Meal, food (on a table), cooking.  
Wow, this turned out pretty short …and I expected it to be _really_ long, too. Well, I _was_ going to have TaoPaiPai talk more about Lunch's past, but I figured that a lot of it he wouldn't know or say. 


	17. Fear

Disclaimer: Chapter 1.

It's been a while. College does take time away. I haven't had much time or even much inspiration lately for most of my stories. Luckily, I already thought out this part of the story… well, not so much "thought out" as "took mostly from an episode of DBZ".

**

* * *

.-T-. **

Kushami was telling the truth when she said that there would be plenty of room in her capsule house. The accommodations were lax enough for each of us to have a room… Separate rooms… I shouldn't have been surprised. After all, she continued to live in the guest room even during the times when she would be in my room every night in my house. But it hit me in such a way that I wandered if she even felt the same way about me anymore.

I didn't allow myself to ponder this, of course. I continued my training schedule as I had it before, not paying her any mind. She, in turn, didn't react belligerently about my lengthened sessions or the lack of attention (what would have been expected, instead she'll complain politely and jokingly), but it bothered Chouzu greatly. He constantly gave me mental notes as I ignored her, including in his anxiety that continuing to do so might spur her to run again. At first, I merely told him that there was nothing to worry about, but he kept to it to the point of annoyance. I finally told him my suspicions.

_Haven't you noticed that her attitude has changed? Kushami isn't interested in me anymore. She might have even gotten someone else after she had gone._ Telepathy is the best method of speaking with this kind of subject matter.

_What…? How could you think such a thing, Ten-san? _He looked more pained by the moment. _If she didn't feel the same way about you, she wouldn't be here! She said that she had a hard time finding us; why else would she go through the trouble?_

_She might feel obligated some how… or maybe she likes the challenge of finding people with so few contacts. Maybe Lunch urged her to. It's hard to tell with her._

_But she's staying with us, and letting us live with her in the capsule house… and she's still being nice to you! Everyone else says that you're the only one that she's nice to like that._

_She might seem nice, but that smile… Chouzu, can't you tell? Her tone… it seems happy, but it's so… **hollow**._

.-.

Later on in the week, I heard an unusual amount of rustling coming from Kushami's room when I came in for a meal. Normally, I would pass by such things, but curiosity took me and I knelt around to look into her open door. In her hands was one of those foil-plastic sheets of pills, and she was popping several out into her hand. "I was wondering why I hadn't seen Lunch yet."

She jerked slightly out of surprise and jumped her eyes over to me. For a moment, it seemed like I had just caught her doing something diabolical, but the feeling fell away quickly when she acknowledged me nonchalantly, "I've been taking them for a while now." Her hand rose before her and poured the small pile of drugs into her mouth, immediately followed by an uncomfortable look and a long swig from a nearby glass of water.

The sight took me back a little. "How many pills did you just take?"

"Five. Why?"

"_Five?_" I winced. "Is that necessary? For something you take every three days?"

"I've upped the dosage a lot since then, Tenshinhan. I do this twice a day, now."

"That can't be healthy. You said yourself that there were side effects."

"It can't be helped. I've taken them a lot since I left and my tolerance has gone up. I have to either increase my usage to compensate, or go to a doctor for a prescription strength version… and you know how much I hate doctors."

"Then stop taking it."

She stared at me a while, then shook her head and sighed. "Not an option."

"What? Are you addicted to it now, or something?"

"_No_… look, Tenshinhan, you shouldn't worry over it. I didn't come back just to get you upset, after all. I'll be right to dinner, okay? Just don't start without me… I don't want you and your warrior's stomach eating the whole meal to make up for the energy you burned before I get the chance to get a bite!" She gave me another smile, and even dug into her tone… she almost sounded natural.

Almost.

**.-K-.**

I didn't mean for Tenshinhan to find out how many pills I've been taking, but I guess with how often I take them now, it would have come out eventually. Although I had to reveal how much I'm taking and had to deal with his complaints, I did successfully avert the need to tell him _why_ I still took them… I didn't want to tell him that I was afraid. Ever since I talked to TaoPaiPai, I was afraid of not existing… _"Only a simple sneeze"… "Nothing more than an imaginary friend connected to reality through a growth"…"genetic fallback"…_ Those phrases stuck in my side painfully.

Well, with this crisis averted, I knew that the next course of action would be to get that supposed death of my parents out of him. It wasn't going to be an easy task, of course. I thought out the whole thing before I got there: First, I had to get him into a good mood… food always does the trick there. Then, I've got to get him into reminiscing. I would start that off with talking about my own experiences (he always said my stories were interesting). Then, I'll bring up his training when he was younger… I can tie that into the conversation with a little complaint of how much he trains now. Yeah, that'll work…

The last step would be the hardest. I realized that I'd have to tell him that I saw TaoPaiPai, and ask him if he remembered the Itadaki assassination… but I wouldn't reveal to him that they were supposed to be _my_ parents. It might upset him a little bit, but after I get that from him, I'll be out of his life and wouldn't have to bother him anymore.

_First step… the food! Time to rob a place!_

.-.

_Geez, he can be relentless._ Tenshinhan and Chouzu were so busy concentrating on training, they didn't even see me bring all those cooks and supplies into the house. And, they aren't even paying attention to me screaming at them down here. _Fine. _I brought out an Uzi and fired up into the air. "Oi! It's time to eat! Hurry and come, Tenshinhan! I've prepared the best cuisine!"

The two hesitated a bit… Even from such a distance, I could see his eyes were wider than usual (it has to be easier to see with him since he has one more than most). And that look didn't settle when he came in to see a table of food that had enough to satisfy even Goku's stomach. The two stared for a good 2 minutes at the dishes. Chouzu was the first one to break the silence, commenting on the incredible banquet I put before them.

"How did you get all this?" Seeing Tenshinhan so surprised is pretty rare.

I put up the friendliest demeanor I could muster. "Of course I hired some help to fix all this up." I nodded slightly towards the contingent of chefs behind me. "And the ingredients are top class as well, right?" I turned to the culinary artists, but despite the nice face I had taken, they were still shaken up from when I _dealt with_ them earlier, and they jumped away from my glance.

Chouzu continued to size up the meal. "Did it cost a lot?"

"Don't worry about it," I started putting some of Tenshinhan's on a plate for him, "It's easy money from my business. By the way, Tenshinhan, how long do you plan to train here?" Tenshinhan's eyes fell to the floor when I handed him the plate.

"Ten-san wants to train until he can beat Son Goku," Chouzu chimed in to answer first, as he tended to do sometimes.

"_Geez_… The world is so peaceful now. It's useless for you to get any stronger, isn't it? Besides," I lightheartedly patted Tenshinhan's chest, "you're _very_ strong already."

His face turned very serious. "I'm not strong at all."

I blinked. _What? Why did he get so solemn all of the sudden?_

"Before I met Son Goku," he continued, "I never knew that the world was so full of possibilities. Apart from Son, there must be more brilliant martial artists. So, I must improve myself."

_Damnit, now what?_ I paused before I thought up something else. "What do you think? How about we rob a bank together? We could have a lot of money, then we can eat anything, anytime we want!" I used to do this number all the time with him, but only half the time it was actually serious. It turned into a running gag that I can cheer him up with. "You need money for everything now. This world is _made_ of money. I promise we can be happy if we have a lot of it as well!" _I wonder if my parents ever thought this way? …Why is he being so still?_ "Aren't you going to eat?"

Chouzu didn't seem comfortable with Tenshinhan's stillness as well. "Ten-san, come on and we'll eat."

Thankful for someone on my side, I patted him on the head. "That's right. Make yourselves at home and enjoy! Here, Chap, help yourself and take as much as you want."

He nodded. "Ah… hai."

I brought my attention back to Tenshinhan and continued the little skit. "Na, Tenshinhan, it's interesting to rob a bank. You fire into the air and everyone panics! Come one! Let's go do it together! There's nothing to worry about if I have you by my side! We'd be unbeatable!"

This was where he would always say, "I get enough of that at home, Kushami. Let's just sit and eat quietly for a change." Then he would kiss me on the cheek and bring me over to sit down. But this time, he didn't say a word to me. He put down the plate I gave him and went for the door. "Chouzu. More training."

Chouzu looked back from stuffing his mouth, confused since he thought for sure that Tenshinhan would've wanted to eat as well. I crossed my arms and scowled. "What a hard headed fellow."

The kid ran to the door after him, but turned back to me with a greasy smile from the stake he was just chowing down on. "Ten-san can break a rock with his head!"

Snap! I pulled out a semi and started shooting out of aggrivation. "_I didn't mean that! Bakayarou!_" I made the doll do a little dance before he scurried out and left me breathing out any left over anger.

.-.

I had already dismissed the chefs, and I had just cleared away the last of the plates and decided to sit in the living room. Some sweat trickled down my brow, so I wiped it away and rested an elbow on the table and stared off into the distance with my chin in my palm. _Tenshinhan, you've become harder to talk to. Before, it wouldn't have been nearly as hard to get this information out of you… but, then again, it was easier to talk to you then because I wanted to talk to you. Now I'm… almost afraid of you. I seem to be afraid of everything._ I kicked the table column enough to shake it and sighed. _If TaoPaiPai's intentions were to pull me away from you, he succeeded. I'm not sure if I'll ever feel that way about you again._

I started feeling more irate by the second, and the vibration of the table did help. "Flimsy-ass piece of furniture! What normal object would keep shaking for so long?" At that time I noticed that the pots and the leaves of the palm tree nearby were shaking. "Oh no," I panicked and ducked under the table, and no sooner than I did, cracks branched through the ceiling and the potted tree fell down. "A- an earthquake… Earthquakes are what scare me the most!" I put my arm against the column of the table for stabilization, but cracks formed right under my fingers. I freaked. _Oh God! What do I do now!_ I scrambled out from under towards the door, screaming for the first person I thought could save me. "Tenshinhan!"

The house collapsed around me, but I managed to burst through the door and run away from the wreckage, the shaking under my feet causing me to fall on my face before I got too far. "**_Ten shin han!_**"

**.-T-.**

I noticed the huge shift in the Earth's crust, and felt an incredible power spike right before it started. The shift quickly escalated into a terrible disruption, into a force that could shatter rock and cause a tsunami to rise from the water.

To extend my worries, I heard Kushami cry from below, fallen before a shambles that was once a capsule house.

"**_Ten shin han!_**"

I brought my attention back to the waterfall. Large boulders were jumping out from the water, and the water itself was pulling away from its rushing curtain, straight for the plateau below. Damnit, there isn't much time.

I flew down and landed in front of her. She looked up at me and, to my surprise, grabbed onto my leg while whimpering in such a terrified manner. I knelt down, took her away from my leg, and pulled her tightly against my chest, then braced myself.

As the water came crashing down on us, she screamed again, and I could even hear Chouzu's voice yelling out after me before the crashing water blocked most of my senses. All I could see now, besides the heavy rush of clear water around me, was Kushami, with her face buried into my chest.

When it finally passed, I released her, both of us completely soaked. My training partner didn't waste time to come down by us to assure himself that we were indeed all right. Kushami scowled and looked down at her drenched form. I was about to ask her if she was okay myself, but she suddenly wrapped her arms around her own shoulders and rubbed, shivering. "So damn cold…" And then something I thought was impossible.

She sneezed.

Right in front of me, Lunch stood, looking around as confused as ever, and I felt the same way for once. _But, she took those pills! I **saw** her take them today!_

She gasped. "…Oh no! Have I done something bad again!"

We managed to find something with which to dry ourselves off, during which time we kept trying to assure Lunch that the wreck of a house nearby and the waterlogged surroundings had nothing to do with her. Of course, she insisted on giving us an apology when she gathered up her belongings, complete with a polite bow. "I'm so sorry to give you so much trouble. I'm going to return to Kame House immediately."

I smiled. "That's great. Say hello to Muten Roshi-sama for me. Tell him that we're continuing our training."

"Hai. I will. Take care." She gave us another bow and started to walk away.

"Be careful," I called after her.

"Sayonara," Chouzu chimed in.

She stopped, looked back at us, and bowed again before continuing out of my sight.

I didn't expect to see her again for a long time. It would figure that it wouldn't so much be "a long time" as it would be 15 or 20 minutes. I had not resumed my training long before a barrage of bullets emitted puffs of dust around my feet, and had Chouzu dancing around.

"Bakayarou!" Kushami screamed from a cliff in the distance. "I've tried so hard to find you! Do you want to dump me or something like that?"

_By Buddha! What is with her? Is she **trying** to give me an aneurysm?_

"You better stop what you're doing and come over here," she threatened. The engines of a hovercar blasted above at precisely the wrong time. Kushami screamed another expletive and shot up at the car that was trying to land.

When they finally got a chance to land, out came Kuririn and Bulma, and they came bearing news that by far dwarfed the oddities of the rest of the day.

"Impossible! You mean that Son is dead?" I shouted, sitting back down on a piece of house debris in my brain-fried and dumbstruck state. Son Goku had a _brother_, who happened to be an _alien_ (which makes him one as well), his brother kidnapped his_ four-year-old son_, so he teamed with _Piccolo_, of all people, to kill him, and _died_ in the process. To top it off, his brother called some _more_ aliens who are much stronger, and now _they're_ coming to Earth. What about this story _isn't_ ridiculous!

"But Goku is getting training in the afterlife," Kuririn continued, "So we must not let him beat us and be prepared to fight the Saiya-jin as well."

Bulma nodded. "Kami-sama himself will train you."

"I couldn't ask for more. We'll go immediately."

"Ten-san!" Chouzu's happy voice broke in, "You can finally get better training! Eh, except…" He looked back tentatively at Kushami.

Her glare was as angry as ever. "What's the matter, sonny?"

He gave a nervous laugh, and I smiled, starting to feel somewhat joyous myself to get such a chance.

"Oi, Tenshinhan," Kushami said, "Don't think for a minute that you can just leave me behind. Even if you go to Kami-sama's temple, I'll still follow you." This was complete with her most hardened lower.

I couldn't answer. _What the Hell! Why is she acting so fucking **weird**! She was closer to Son than I was; why isn't she more upset over his**death **instead!_

* * *

Hey, that was actually kinda long. Almost 3,000 words.  
I know that some of my readers have seen this episode in English from the uncut DBZ. If you noticed, my version was different because its based off the Japanese subs I have (I say "based off" because I changed some of the dialogue that I knew was incorrectly subbed). 


	18. Fatigue

Disclaimer: Let me see if I can type this with my nose: captr 1. Well, at least I'm not totally screwed if my arms are chopped off and I need to call 911. The disclaimer is in chapter one.

Since I have time in this Christmas break, and playing the first Budokai (which one of my friends got me for Christmas) inspired me a bit, I decided to update. YaYyZZzz!11!1111!1eleventy-one

**

* * *

.-K-. **

I couldn't see the end of the stone pillar called "Karin Tower" (or something like that) ahead of me, and the glare from the sun wasn't helping. I shielded my eyes from the sun with my hand and tried to peer even more, trying my best to, if not see the top, see Tenshinhan and Chouzu climbing up. No avail. "Chikuso… How am I supposed to climb up this rotten thing?"

Out of my annoyance, I yelled up into the air, hoping to reach his ears with my warning. "Oi! Tenshinhan! You'd better not leave me behind!" _If he knows what's good for him, he'll return for me,_ I thought. But, as I should have figured, there was no sign of him coming back. I grumbled out a list of obscenities and checked my capsules. Just as I thought, no airplane capsules. I looked over my shoulder to a small tent-teepee-thing pitched right beside the thin monument. _Someone lives there, right? They probably have an airship. They should; almost everyone has one these days_. I glanced around for anyone that might approach, and quickly made at going through the tent's contents.

I sifted through a lot of junk this person owned, tossing out old pans and skins. "Nothing worth a dime," I sighed.

Cough.

"Huh?" I turned my head to see a huge man reddish skin and war paint all over his face. What's even better, he was holding a spear.

"What are you doing?" He demanded in a firm but amicable voice. He looks like one of those peace-loving guys.

Might as well be blunt. "Well, I thought that I might borrow an airplane capsule or something, if you had one." I continued looking through his belongings.

"We don't have anything like that. Leave right away."

_Ah, the stubborn type._ I looked back at him confidently. "I have money if that's what you want."

"We don't have what we don't have."

_Well, if he's going to be that way. _I stuck a double barrel in his face. "Hand over the airplane quietly!" I wasn't going to let some man of nature, burly or not, keep me from my goal.

A younger voice came towards us. "What's wrong, Father?" A smaller, more adolescent version of the man before me ran up.

"Upa!" The older one called. "It's nothing, Upa."

"What are you trying to do to my father?" The boy "Upa" looked at me in anger, holding his bow before him.

_Damnit, he has a weapon. _"Don't come near me!" I yelled, and fired immediately at the teenager. He dodged, so I aimed to fire again. The next thing I knew, the big one slapped the rifle out of my hands. I tried to jump for it, but he blocked me with his massive arm. A piece of fringed hemp tied on his arm got a bit too close to my nose and…

_**ACHOO!**_

**.-L-.**

When I opened my eyes, two guys I never saw before were looking at me with really surprised faces. I giggled. Gee, this happens all the time.

The biggest one, standing beside me, said, "Who… _what_ are you?"

"My name is Lunch," I said then smiled. "What's you're name?"

He blinked. "…Bora. And this is my son, Upa." He gestured to the boy who was sitting on the ground, still looking shocked.

I waved at him. "Konnichiwa! Oh, I didn't do anything bad to either of you, did I? Sometimes I do things I shouldn't when I sneeze."

They didn't say anything, so I figured that I didn't do anything too bad. "Where am I, anyway?" I asked.

"You're on the Seichi Karin holy grounds," Bora said, "right before Karin's tower. Are you here to climb the tower?"

"What?" I shook my head. "I don't think so. Why would I want to do that?"

"To become stronger. In fact, a three-eyed man and a smaller, pale-faced one just started up not long ago."

"Oh!" I smiled. "That must be why I'm here! I'm following Tenshinhan and Chouzu!" I ran over to the tower-thingy and gazed up. "Wooow… they're all the way on the top of that thing?"

"Umm, well, no," Bora said, "He's probably still climbing at this point. It can be a long task."

My smile quickly turned into a frown. "And I bet I can't get up there by climbing, and I don't think I have an airplane capsule…" I sighed and sat on the ground. "Not like I can drive it the way I am anyway. I'm no good at driving hard things like bikes or planes." I gasped and took out my capsules to look at them. "Oh no! I don't have any vehicles with me that I can drive at all!" I looked at Bora. "How far is the closest city?"

"I believe it's at least 300 kilometers away."

"300 kilometers!" I looked down to the ground. "I can't do that on foot. Oh no, what am I going to do?"

There was a long silence before Upa said, "You can stay with us for a while. Until you're able to leave."

Bora looked at him. "Upa!"

"I think that we can trust her… as long as she's like this."

"But… who knows when turn violent again?"

I tapped his arm. "I told you. When I sneeze."

**.-K-.**

When I came back to, my rifle wasn't in site, and neither was the large man, but I was still nearby that tower._ Good, he didn't run me off, but he's probably still around, so I have to keep my guard. _I made sure that I had a good look around this time, so that I definitely wouldn't have some brave just sneak up on me. _All clear, but now what? It really does look like that guy doesn't have an airplane capsule…_ I took out my own box again and looked for something, _anything_ that could help me get up there.

I pulled out one and made a high-powered grapple launcher appear. "Hell, this thing gets me into the penthouses of skyscrapers in a single bound, it should get me up that tall slab over there. It might be a couple of shots up if it's as long as it seems, but that's no big deal. It's powered by air compression, anyway."

I aimed for the most distant knob on the column I could see and shot. Hook, check, all right! I braced myself and triggered it to pull me up. _Heh, this'll be a piece of cake._

.-.-.-.

I lost count hours ago of how many times I fired and pulled myself farther and farther up the monument. _And yet, I still can't see the top. _My muscles ached and cramped. My arms were tired from holding onto the pillar and to the grapple when being, by this point, drug upwards. I was certain now that I was too weak to move at all anymore: my arms couldn't take any climbing, and I couldn't possibly keep myself braced to the column with one hand while I fire with the other anymore. Even if I did manage it, I doubt that I can keep myself from letting go of the handle as it pulls me up.

I looked down, but all I could see were clouds. If I fell down, there was no way I would be able to survive, and I knew that I couldn't possibly get myself down safely. So I looked back up. _Perhaps the top of this thing is closer than I think it is,_ I told myself. All I had to do is fool myself into going a little farther, and I'll get there, and I'll finally be able to get Tenshinhan to talk.

The grapple hook whizzed through the air and I braced myself again to be drug up, concentrating hard on my hands, trying my best to not let go. I shut my eyes tight and clenched every muscle as the hum of the instrument continued. There was a click, then a slight jerk. I opened my eyes, wanting to smile. _See! I can keep going! I'm not going to let some stupid piece of carved rock beat me!_ I pulled myself around and grabbed onto the holds.

Air went by me at an increasing rate. _What the Hell…? Where did this wind come from?_ And then I knew that I was falling straight down. I tried to grab a hold of one of the knobs as I went past, but I couldn't get any of my limbs to respond. I fell faster and faster. The air bit harder and harder on my skin. A wave of pain came as my limbs beat against the knobs and decorations of the pillar as I went down.

My world went black.

**.-T-.**

I had all but forgotten about any problems I might have had in the world during training… The air was vastly different in this place; so little of it at this altitude. At least I now understood the vast difference in Son Goku's technique during the last tournament, and why his movements had become so quick, he was even able to trick my three eyes.

I sparred with Chouzu the others that were brought to the lookout as well, seeing as Kami-sama did not yet have interest in training us personally as of yet. The unusual, plump gardener Mr. Popo would from time to time give us suggestions and pointers as he watered the plants and proceeded with his chores, but that was the extent of any advice we might have received.

It had grown late on the tenth or eleventh day. As usual, we decided to all turn in after the late dinner. But as we left to our rooms, Kami-sama halted me and beckoned for me to come aside towards the edge of the hemisphere.

"Tenshinhan, you have been training very hard ever since you got here," he began.

"Thank you, Kami-sama," I wondered why he decided to bring me aside like this, and briefly contemplated on how much he looked like Piccolo.

"The others have been training hard as well, and I'm sure that you realize you are not the only one straining hard for your goals. However, as you put yourself through strife to reach superior strength, someone else is putting themselves through strife to reach _you_." He walked over to the edge and looked down through the clouds. "That woman who followed you to Karin's tower, _Kushami_, attempted to climb up to see you."

"She _what_?" My eyes grew wide._ I didn't think that she would go that far! _"What happened?"

"Well, she intended to fly up here with an airplane, but she didn't seem to have one on her, so she attempted to pull herself up with a grappling hook since she didn't think it'd be as tall as it is. She managed to get herself almost up to half way before her body gave out on her and she fell.

"_Halfway!_" A great weakness went through me. I knew that such a fall could easily kill a normal human. I clenched my eyes closed. "Please tell me that she survived."

"Luckily, Bora and Upa, who live near the base of the tower, knew that she climbed up, and Bora went up a bit of the distance and caught her as she fell. But the impact still injured her, and she hit against the pillar several times. Besides that, exhaustion got to her; she only regained consciousness a few minutes ago."

_She's okay, then?_ "How long has she been unconscious?"

"Hmm… four or five days. They've been nursing her during that time since the nearest hospital is a good distance… plus they knew it would be best not to move her much."

"You mean she did that to herself _five days ago_ and you _knew_! You didn't _tell me_!"

"Tenshinhan, telling you would have only succeeded in worrying you. You have no way of healing her since there are no senzu grown at the moment and, like I said, moving her would have been a bad idea. The only reason I decided to tell you at all was because she wants to see you, and it's best to indulge her so that she doesn't try such a crazy stunt again."

I stood in silence for a while before telling him that I was going and made my way past him.

"Tenshinhan."

I paused in midair and looked back at him.

"She might be alive, but you should brace yourself for the worst."

* * *

I don't think there's any vocabulary for you guys on this one.  
As you might have noticed, about half of this included parts directly from episode 13, once again almost directly from subbed episodes.  
The next chapter might be pretty quick since its on my mind and I'm on break… but no promises! 


	19. Ache Bound Anguish

Disclaimer: Chapter number one.

**

* * *

.-K-.**

The first sensation I was aware of was pain. Eager to find the cause, I strained my eyes open in such a way I felt I was tearing them with their own muscles. My surroundings didn't come into focus for some time; it seemed only a blur of red-orange over darkness. But I would find that I was inside of a tent, with a large fire not too far off outside, it's light and heat radiating into the cloth hut. I quickly figured out that this was the teepee of those two Indians, and I was covered in furs of various animals. Something was tightly woven around my chest, and when I struggled to move the furs off of me, I would see that my chest was bound… and I recognized it as improvised rib splinting.

I tried to heave a sigh, but the cloth splinting restricted my breath, and the resulting sharp pain made me moan instead. The noise alerted the large man and he was by my side in no time. "Try not to move. You should keep your actions to a minimum until your fractures heal enough to get rid of the wrappings."

I just stared back at him, thinking about how much I wanted to take a long bath to soothe the soreness that seemed to cover my entire surface area.

"How do you feel?" His baritone words pounded into my ears as if I was hungover.

I managed a scratchy exhale. "My skin hurts. My back hurts. My arms and legs hurt. My eyes hurt. I think my teeth and hair hurt too."

"You should rest. I'll get you some water." He was gone and back with a water skin in an amount of time that my mind was unable to comprehend in its current state. "Here." He opened the lid and poured it slowly into my mouth. I found myself only able to swallow and close my mouth when I felt I had enough, causing a stream to run down my chin before he pulled the water skin away.

"Do you have a lamp that you could light or somethin'?" I asked. I couldn't help but feel a little frightened in my state with his huge bulk blocking the firelight from outside. He obliged and soon had an oil-fueled flame by my side. Soon the boy Upa came in, asked his father some questions that my head didn't feel like wrapping around, and brought in some food for me before leaving again.

It was a while even after this before I spoke again. "Why are you helping me? As I recall, I tried to rob you."

"You might not remember it, but you have been helping out a lot around here while you were waiting to… change back. Your other self wasn't able to use the forms of transportation you had brought."

"She can; she's just afraid to. Lunch freaks out with fast vehicles sometimes, so she just avoids them… So, you weren't afraid that I'd try to shoot you again?"

"Bullets do not harm me, and I've trained Upa to able to at least dodge them, as you have seen." He did not speak for a moment. "I didn't think that you'd try something like climb the tower and end up falling."

"I wanted to get to Tenshinhan as soon as possible," I grumbled, "I figured that it couldn't possibly be that tall… I figured wrong."

"This Tenshinhan… do you love him that much? Your other self spoke of him several times."

I hesitated. "I give up. This isn't worth it."

"What?"

"I'm not in love with him. Not anymore. I thought I might still be… I _wanted_ to be… but it's a stupid delusion. Really I just wanted to ask him a question and get on with my bloody life."

What I thought was going to be an awkward silence was replaced by a husky voice at the teepee's opening. "Kushami." When the large man turned to find the speaker, I was able to make out a vague, blurred image of Tenshinhan. He didn't say anymore, but he walked closer and knelt by me, looking off to the side uncomfortably. The Indian took his unspoken message and left us alone, collecting his son away from earshot on the way out.

I could tell that he was not going to speak on his own volition, and a morose air formed around him as thick as smoke. So I resolved to cut through it. "I wonder sometimes why God could be so cruel to me," I started. Then I managed a smirk. "There was that time that I kicked him in a hole, though."

He brought his stare from the tent-side to settle square at me, eyes wide in confusion. A laugh came from him when he remembered the incident I was speaking of, I started to laugh along with him, but I didn't realize how bad an idea that was. Pain shot through my chest, triggering a terrible chain of half-coughs that only escalated the feeling. I felt his fingers touch my arm as he attempted to comfort me, but I pulled myself away as best I could and eventually calmed myself down.

When I was able to open my eyes, he was looking away again, trying his best to hide his hurt face. "I'm sorry."

"Don't start apologizin'. It's depressing."

"I can't help it. I want to ask what I did wrong, but—"

"Just stop talkin' like that. It's pointless."

He sighed. "You wanted to ask me something?"

_Now that's even more depressing. _"During that time when I ran away… I heard some things about your training under that crane geezer and his brother." Even with my impaired senses, I could tell he tensed up. "That cyborg guy…TaoPaiPai... he brought you with him during his assassinations, didn't he?"

"…Yes. He did. But I don't—"

"Do you remember when he killed Itadaki Zen and his wife?"

He didn't make a sound for a while, a look of concentration in his face. "I do. He brought me with him on that mission. I remember they were big tycoons; their deaths were in the news a lot after that."

"Describe it to me; their assassination."

I could tell he wanted to ask why, but he decided to answer me first. "It was pretty straight forward. A rival CEO, I don't remember which, hired him to do it. The guy wanted them both to be killed, no questions asked, no disposing of the bodies. All that was necessary was their elimination as competition.

"TaoPaiPai-sama slipped into the Itadaki mansion the night that he got his introductory fee, and decided almost on the last minute to bring me with him to observe. He found them in a joint office… with a partner desk, if I'm not mistaken. They were discussing something in fiscal gibberish that I didn't understand at the time… I might have been only 6 or 8 at the time, and was more interested in looking at the expensive stuff they had… The woman had a weird accent, I recall, like Japanese wasn't her native tongue. They stood while they were talking, and were drinking something in crystal glasses… I think it was some sort of brandy, but I'm not entirely sure.

"Anyway, the assassination itself was pretty quick. First TaoPaiPai-sama killed the man with a simple stab wound to the abdomen… he used an average knife that he picked up earlier for that. Then, before the wife could start screaming, he moved behind her and strangled her with a garrote. She didn't put up much of a fight outside of her limbs flailing around before she went limp. Something else happened after that…"

Tenshinhan closed his lower eyes in thought, then opened them soon after. "Now I remember. Their daughter I think it was witnessed it, and I caught sight of her; she was hiding beside a grandfather clock I think. When she noticed that I saw her, she took off running, and I chased her since I usually took care of all the witnesses after the job was done.

"You intended to kill her?"

"Yeah… but I couldn't find her before TaoPaiPai-sama called me back and we left. The mansion was big, and there were a lot of places for someone small that knew the place to hide. Why are you asking about this?"

"What did the little girl look like?"

Tenshinhan showed a flicker of uncertainty, but he bent a brow and tried to remember. "I remember that she was younger than me, maybe even half my age at the time, and I remember thinking that she inherited her father's hair. It was…" The uncertainty in his face grew into dread. "It was purple. Her hair was purple." His body visually recoiled from me, but his eyes were straight on me. "Kushami, I…"

"Don't bother apologizing for it; it was a long time ago."

"You don't care that I tried to kill you! You don't care that I—"

"All I really cared about was hearing my parents' death; I wanted to hear what it was like from someone who was there. Besides, you weren't trying to kill _me_; Lunch didn't even create me for at least another year after that."

"'Create'?" Tenshinhan went silent for a while, and I could tell that he was struggling to find something to say, and would from time to time open his mouth to speak, just to close it again. He gave up and said, "You must hate me," his tone defeated.

I shook my head as well as I could manage, squinting a little when it reminded me of how sore I was. "I don't hate you at all, Tenshinhan. I'm _afraid_ of you. I'm afraid of everything, now, and I… don't think that I can ever think of you the same way again."

His three eyes didn't blink, and a shaky exhale came from his chest. Abruptly he stood and turned away from me. Another few seconds of hesitation and he paced to the opening of the tent as suddenly as he stood. I felt that he would run away back to the tower without a word, and I would never see him again, and I cursed my weakness for not being able to stand up and demand him to halt. But he didn't move a centimeter in what seemed like forever, and I felt that time was mocking me by rubbing my current immobility in my face. And suddenly, in an awkward and panicked motion, he hastily moved and knelt back by my side, taking my left hand exposed from the furs and imprisoning it in his own two large ones.

Tenshinhan's lower eyes clasped closed and his third eye's lid even lowered more than normally. His jaw clenched, his head dropped, and he pulled my hand up before him. My arm began to shake… and I realized that it was because _he_ was shaking. "…Tenshinhan?" Worry washed over me as my confusion festered.

"I can't… think of a thing to say," he spoke at length, "But I can't just leave without another word. Kushami, tell me something. I don't care what it is or what it's about. Just give me something… something to respond to."

I sunk back a little in the furs, the feeling of dread frozen and broken off from me. I said the first thing that came to mind. "Earthquakes scare me a _Hell_ of a lot more than you do."

"…_Huh_?"

"Quakes scare me shitless. I have Seismophobia. Had it for as long as I could remember. Didn't tell ya' before 'cause I figured that I seemed crazy enough."

The baffled look this created in him resolved to an earnest smile, and he gave a little sigh as the tense, almost crushing grip around my hand ceased. He brought it closer to his lips, chastely kissed a knuckle, and released it. "Thank you, Kushami." He rose and went through the entrance, saying, as he left, "I'll never be able to repay you for all you've done for me." And he was gone.

Long after he had left, I said aloud to myself, "And here I always thought _he'd_ be the one dumping _me_." I forced a light scoff and reflected. I couldn't help but think back on all that was said, and about what that night of my parents' death might have been like. But every thought came back to the last words said. "'Never be able to'…" I repeated sadly, and I wondered if the ache in my chest that I just noticed was caused by my condition.

I decided to ignore the food Upa brought in and blew out the oil flame, pulling furs back over me to go back to sleep. I didn't think I could bring myself to chew, and I desperately needed to escape consciousness.

**.-T-.**

When my feet touched down on the tile of the lookout's surface, I was surprised that I didn't break down, that I didn't shed a tear. I was even more surprised that I felt like I _should_ weep. I looked back and remembered that I saw that she was no longer interested in me. The signs were clear to me when she returned with her fake smile and her forced tone. So why should I still be so shocked when I hear her _confirm_ it?

I looked back at my behavior after she told me, and it made me feel even more defeated. I acted so rashly, and I wanted to just _run_. Something inside of me said that I could come back and try talking to her again after I calmed down, but I knew better. So I forced myself to stay, and almost made myself even more of a fool in doing so.

I found myself looking over the edge again._ My girls have both given me so much… there must be something—_ I shook my head immediately. _No. They're not 'my girls' anymore; I can't call them that._

I groaned, remembering how I once thought that I would always have at least one of them if the other grew angered at me. But it never occurred to me before that _both_ could get out of my reach. I couldn't change the past. It seemed that her parents' assassination was part of _my_ training. I wondered some on how she found this information, but I figured that with her ability to track people and objects with few leads, such a task would not be overly difficult.

Without any other direction in me, I found myself training again, darkness long since fallen and with everyone in the vicinity asleep. I should have been sleeping as well, reserving my strength for another long day tomorrow, but I knew that I couldn't if I tried. I went through my individual routine furiously, driving out all other problems from my mind with martial arts as I have in the past.

It had been hours before another person had joined me outside the temple's building. "There is more to life than martial arts, Tenshinhan."

I halted my work and looked at the speaker. "I apologize for training so late, Kami-sama." I conceived something. "You knew what was going to happen, didn't you?"

"I did. And I believe that I warned you sufficiently."

I looked up and inhaled. "Then why was I still surprised?"

"You were shocked, not surprised. There's a difference."

"But shouldn't I have been able to act more rationally if I was able to see it coming?"

"Tenshinhan, if a loved one smoked, drank, and had a family history of heart problems, would you have been able to shrug off their death as a result of a heart attack or stroke? After all, it was to be expected, wasn't it?"

His wisdom killed most of the questions that hazed my mind, and there was only one thought left that I could clearly define. "I don't have much left without her. You said that there's more to life than martial arts, but it's all I have now. That and a single friend in the world."

"You should not underestimate your own life like that, Tenshinhan."

"But it's _true_. Ever since I left my apprenticeship under Tsuru Sennin-sama, I had lost most of what was my identity. All that remained was Chouzu and my training. But Lunch and Kushami gladly stepped in and became my new family. I lost them, and I'm back to where I was before."

"Hmm…" Kami-sama bowed his head. "There are many unusual occurrences in our lives, Tenshinhan. I wish I could tell you that everything will be all right in the end, but, unfortunately, any prediction I could give you of what your future will bring will be based mostly on speculation. I am not as omniscient as people have thought me to be. It is times like this when I wish I did have such an ability so that I can have honest proof and be able to comfort people who need it." He went back towards the building. "But I can tell you that, at this time, you need to sleep, or you will not be able to train well tomorrow."

I nodded and followed him in, finding my way through the halls to the room my futon was in. As soon as I entered, Chouzu popped up.

"Ten-san, where have you been?"

I smiled. "Nowhere. I was just out thinking."

"Thinking? About what?"

"About how… I'll never be able to escape my past."

* * *

Weeeell, that was a hair-raiser, ne? Or at least something to get people smacking their keyboards in response? May you be happy in knowing that this isn't the last chapter. Good lord, that last one might still be a while.  
May you also know that I wrote this quickly and _delayed_ its release because of lack of reviews. Teehee. Happy New Years, everybody. 


	20. Sandy Wake

Disclaimer: Chap #1.

Wha?

**

* * *

.-K-.**

I waved the glass in my hand around some, making the ice inside clank against the glass. "Oi! Barkeep!"

The young man came up, cleaning a glass. "Don't tell me you want another."

"Nah. I was just wonderin' if you know of anything to do in this town."

"Anything to do? Girl, you're in _North Capital_! There are plenty of things to do here!"

"Give me some examples. You lived here for a while, right? You were sayin' just yesterday about how you and your boyfriend worked in this bar for so many years."

Aure chuckled. "So you were sober enough to hear all that, huh? Well, I could spout out a bunch of suggestions, but I just don't know _what_ you want to do. You could ask Feri… he's more of a night-runner than I ever was."

"Skip it. I don't know what I want to do, to tell the truth," _since I have to keep low a little while before I pull another heist. _I thought back some on Upa and Bora, considering for a moment returning to see them. After I had healed enough to get proper treatment, I left without a thank you, but I remembered how Bora seemed to worry over me more himself (the kid said that it was because he liked me), and I thought that perhaps hanging around wouldn't be a bad idea. Then I came to my senses. "I think I need a hobby."

"Oh? I thought you had a hobby: scaring the other people in the neighborhood and starting rumors."

I shot up. "What kind of rumors?"

He pointed at the medical mask I was wearing. "I know it's not unusual for people to be wearing that around town in this season, but you wear it all the time. I only see you take it off when you drink from a glass."

"What of it?"

"They're thinking you're a 'Kuchisake-Onna'."

I stared at him for a little while before laughing. "Don't they have anything better to do than tell each other stupid ghost stories?"

He winked. "Don't look now, but there are a few behind you."

I did as he suggested and looked at their reflections in the metal bar tap instead. Even with the distorted image, I could tell that it was a group of guys wearing a signature gi from a local dojo. I leaned back a little to make it easier to hear them.

"Go ahead, Yunnan!" One teased, smacking the back of his comrade amicably, "You aren't afraid, are you?"

Yunnan defended himself. "Back off, Rapusan. You and Souchon are both convinced she isn't even human."

"So go and prove us wrong!" Rapusan spouted back in a jocular tone.

"Tsh, fine." He pulled away from them and half-stomped to the stool beside me, ungracefully sitting down as if he was about to partake in a chore.

His hesitation was annoying, so I turned to him. "Oi, what's your name?"

My taking the initiative shocked him a bit, and his face shot to see mine. "Ah, I'm Yunnan. What's yours?"

I confirmed it was okay mentally before telling him. "Kushami. You're from the nearby dojo, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I guess you can tell from the gi." He pulled slightly at the blue cloth and laughed, his disposition loosening. I inadvertently scanned him; Yunnan was leaner than Tenshinhan, almost lanky, and his skin was a darker yellow. His black hair was thick and pulled tightly back from his face, and it was a wonder that he reminded me of Tenshinhan at all. But I'm pretty sure it was his stare: he had that same distant look to him.

"Umm…" His voice broke me out of it, "How come every time I see you, you're alone? I mean, it seems odd that a beautiful woman like you would always have her boyfriend by her side or something."

I resisted a laugh. "You think I'm beautiful, huh?" I took off the mask. "Watashi kirei?"

He made a resisted shout and scrambled backwards a few feet before he got a good look of me and returned with an embarrassed visage. His peers from the dojo howled in laughter from the booth they found. "Real smooth!"

"Shut your cowardly mouth, Rapusan!" He growled back at them, rubbing at his face as if to remove his humiliation and bring himself back to the conversation with me.

"You've been in town for a little while now. Anything specific bring you here?"

"Oh, I've just been busy getting myself lost in the population." _The boy'd probably flip if he knew how serious I was about that._ "Preparing for my next job, I guess you could say. Do you have a job around here, or are you a full-out martial artist?"

He blushed slightly and scratched his head. "I wish I could afford just working on martial arts. I have a stupid desk job at an office building a few blocks from here, and I'm a volunteer policeman. It's a wonder I have time for as much training as I do now."

_Police, huh… Maybe I shouldn't have told him my name._ "So you don't have a wife to support you?"

"Oh no." The blush got deeper. "If I did and tried to do that, she'd eat me out about it every day."

I chuckled. "Of course she would, but overall she wouldn't mind if you were good to her."

"You _do_ have someone, then…"

"Erk," I twitched and waved the notion vigorously away. "No, I've been single for a while now."

"Then you were married?"

My hand shot up to shield the heat on my face. "I just lived with him."

"I see. If you don't mind me asking, why did you break up?"

_Very blunt._ "There were a lot of reasons, but really I just lost interest in him. Why are you still single?"

"I… don't get out enough. With all the stuff I do, I don't really get close to anyone not in the dojo or at the station. Hey, you wouldn't be interested in signing in at the dojo, would you?"

"Eh?" _Unusual strategy to bring up such a question after such a conversation._

"I'm not trying to pressure you or anything, but you seem like someone who knows how to fight. I can tell from the way you move."

I lifted a brow. "Do you often watch me to see how I move?"

"I-I didn't mean it like that at all!" He recoiled a little, but he gave that determined stare before continuing. "But we've been needing more students in the place lately, and I'm just asking you to consider it."

I was about to refuse; getting into the same hobby as a policeman who's showing a certain amount of attentiveness with you isn't a logical decision to an international criminal. But, of course, a little bug in the back of my mind had to buzz otherwise. I wanted to know why these guys were so ready to give themselves up into martial arts. I could understand Tenshinhan's obsession… to an extent, but I never understood how training alone was able to satisfy him.

Besides, I _did_ need a hobby. "Sure. I guess I could come in tomorrow."

**.-T-.**

"You've all surpassed me a long time ago; Mr Popo and I have no more to teach you." Kami-Sama said before us, "For the time we have left, go back down to the planet and work on honing your individual techniques. The future depends on you."

"Hai," we answered, and with that we left.

Chouzu seemed surprised that I was going towards an area we have not been before. "Ten-san, aren't we going back to the place beside the waterfall?"

I stared straight ahead as we flew. "There's no reason for us to return there, Chouzu. I know another place we could train, and it should be even more secluded than the last. That would be best for this phase of training."

A whining sound came from his throat. "But, Ten-san…"

"It doesn't matter, Chouzu. She won't be there."

My words struck him silent with a pouting face for a full minute before he spoke again. "But shouldn't we try to see here anyway? She seemed pretty angry when we left, and the Saiya-jin might… We might die, Ten-san."

For a moment, I regretted keeping Kushami's decision to break up a secret from him, and I considered blurting it out to him, but with so little time left, I didn't want to burden him with something like that. We both have enough to worry about.

"We don't have time to look for her, and she's impossible to find if you recall," I reasoned, "If _she_ wants to find _us_, she will."

My answer kept him from speaking further as we touched down onto land, but his face showed that he still felt reluctance to my decision. As soon as his feet hit the ground, sand flew up, and he immediately went into hover. The place I had chosen was a desert, a place that was isolated for practical reasons rather than just being out of the way and hidden like before. The land was converse to anywhere we might have lived before, with plenty of flat area as far as the eye can see. The increased harshness of the elements here would be a good substitute for the thin air from the altitude of Kami-Sama's temple.

We resolved to train an hour or so before we went to get supplies, and this was perhaps my most distracted training session I had since I left to train under Kami-Sama. With Lunch mentioned, I couldn't help but think about what had transgressed between us, and about what Kushami had discovered. Chouzu wasn't blind to this change in behavior, and when we broke and flew to the nearest town, he seemed almost hopeful, like I might agree to search for her after all.

All this combined put me in an almost paranoid mode when we entered the town. I had somehow convinced myself that the "speak of the devil" motivation would enact itself on my situation, and I expected Kushami to pop up every time a turned a corner in the hamlet. I tried to reassure myself by scanning the kis every minute or so (in such a small, downtrodden place, even Lunch's ki would stick out), but it did little for my nerves.

I finally seemed to get it out of my system by the time we returned to the desert, and my mind didn't wander or stress over to her, and the result was more productive training. My thoughts were now to be the best I can be, even better than Son Goku ever was, to be better than him no matter how powerful he had gotten in the afterlife. I tried not to think directly on the oncoming battle.

I wasn't afraid to die, and I was telling myself that I was doing this to test myself as a martial artist (as I had when I decided to fight Piccolo Daimaou), but I knew that something inside of me didn't want the people I care about to get hurt. I didn't want Chouzu, who was now my only friend and comrade, to die in the battle. Deeper still, I didn't want Lunch to be subject to the Saiya-jin's brutality if we somehow fail against them. Even though she was no longer mine, even though she probably hated me, the thought of hurting her again, even indirectly, was still a heartache. I didn't think I'd ever really get over it, so I thought it better to _ignore_ it.

Drowning my thoughts in training, replacing emotional goals with logical ones, and keeping everyone else out… these were my defenses, and for once, they had a purpose that made the self-destructive nature it had dwarf to the needs of the rest of the world. I have already progressed so much… _Son Goku, hurry back and let us see your power._

* * *

Kuchisake-Onna – A female youkai with a slit mouth that always wears the medical mask. She asks people if she's beautiful, and if they say yes, she'll take it off and ask them again. If they freak out, she'll chase and either kill them or slit their mouth.  
Yunnan – a kind of Chinese black tea.  
Rapusan & Souchon – "Lapsang Souchong", another kind of Chinese black tea.  
Watashi kirei? – "Am I beautiful?" The phrase that the Kuchisake-Onna is supposed to say. 

I usually shoot for 5 pages on my word processor, but some of the story must wait for another day. Besides, I got a little over 2,000 words (what I normally shoot for in most chapters) since this was more prose than dialogue. Thick.


	21. Fried Rice

Disclaimer: Chapter 1.

I hope the OC isn't scaring people off, 'cause he's not staying.

**

* * *

.-K-.**

"I'm thirsty for some tea," I hummed to myself as I walked into the dojo. "Just a little sip, another maybe…"

My entrance alerted Yunnan, and he spun around from the punching bag he was occupying to see me. "Kushami!" He quickly paced himself before me and gathered me into an embrace. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine…Where's the master?"

"In his study at the moment. We're just free-training right now." He released me and pointed to my medical mask. "By the way, how long are you going to wear that thing? I mean, winter's over, and there's nothing wrong with you."

I shrugged. "I'll wear it for as long as I like. It's not like I give a damn about what people think. Let them say I'm a demon or a germaphobe."

He sighed and slumped his shoulders. "I still don't get why you insist wearing that thing. It's not like you have anything to hide."

Yunnan had bothered me about the mask ever since we started going out a few months ago. Of course, I wore it _partially_ to hide my identity, but mostly because I didn't want to sneeze. By this point, being involved in a romantic relationship with a cop would make hiding my face futile. I still counted my blessings that he didn't recognize me as an international criminal and take me in. But the thought of sneezing again… each time made me think back on TaoPaiPai's words, and I somehow just couldn't allow myself to disappear from this world through something as small as a sneeze, even if it was temporary.

The master joined us from his office, and with a gentle command, gathered us in a circle around him. In the time that I spent at North Capital at this dojo, I began to realize how the people who I've been acquainted with for so many years could completely immerse themselves in it. At first, it was tedious, joyless, and painful. But I decided to stick with it, and as time went on, it got easier and easier to lose myself in the constant posing, exercising, sparring, and even meditation. To my surprise, I was even surpassing some of the previous students already.

Yunnan, in the meantime, has been talking about getting a larger apartment, which means he intends to ask me to live with him soon. He asked my opinion on the matter, but I told him that I was undecided at the moment (I mean, come on, if I start to live with him, then I _have_ to give up stealing!). But I still enjoy his company, and he's sorta' been growing on me during this time.

Anteceding the master's training, Rapusan and Souchon approached us, casually inviting us to go with them to the bar and have a drink. Yunnan turned them down, saying that he had to go down to the station. I had to wave it away as well; I had to talk to the master about payment, since I was late (my funds had been dwindling and I forgot to sell something to increase them). I waved goodbye to all of them, and headed for the master's study.

I placed my hand on the handle, feeling an odd sense of dread. I never entered his study before, or even glanced inside of it, despite all this time I've spent in his dojo. Something about this fact made me feel as if there was something I shouldn't see in that room, but I pushed these feelings aside and scoffed at myself before opening the door.

I should always follow my instinct, though, especially since this time, it was right. On the other side of that door, I saw Tenshinhan's face.

**.-T-.**

Sand flew around us as Chouzu and I battered each other with attack after attack. The sun searing rays felt like they were baking me in my own skin, and the feeling always felt to be just below unbearable. The cool air of morning that gave some comfort in this wasteland was completely gone, and it was so bright, I was having problems looking through my three eyes without getting a headache. From this, I surmised that it must have been almost noon.

I landed a few meters away, and telepathically called as I waited for the flying particles to settle back on the desert floor. _Chouzu! Let's take a break; it's almost time to eat._

He nodded and hovered over to me, hanging in the air as he always did, and we began to discuss what to eat. He suggested that we went back to the town and ate something fresher instead of the rations we had bought, and I was inclined to agree; I was growing tired of dried foodstuffs and water myself (in truth, I really missed having a home cooked meal). So we threw around restaurants to go to, suggesting as far as going to a larger town instead.

Then we felt it.

Two dark kis to the East appeared abruptly, both Chouzu and I stopped, and our eyes widened.

Chouzu shook. "T-Ten-san!"

"Tsh!" I gripped my fists. "They came a lot sooner than we expected."

Energy fluctuated suddenly, and we could see a bright explosion in the distance as the sand flew back at us. I held up an arm to block the particles from my eyes and I kept in stance. "What…what the Hell did they just do?"

The winds died quickly as the shockwave passed, and not long after, I felt them moving. They were going towards two other powerful energies… they must have been Piccolo and Son Goku's son. I shook off the sand and unceremoniously snatched a piece of jerky and tore into it before lifting off, Chouzu following in suit. I looked at my friend and training companion from all these years. "Chouzu! You stay here!"

He continued to look ahead of him with a determined face. "Ten-san, I'm going too! I trained just as hard, so I'm going to fight along side you!"

The words silenced me, and I felt twinge of surprise and dread. I wasn't going to stop him; he did train hard. But something in me, perhaps its because he'd died before, but it knew that he was going to die. I was certain.

**.-K-.**

The surge subsided when I became aware that I was looking at picture; it was Tenshinhan, right after he had won the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. I felt odd, seeing him so happy and tired, an image of him that I had grown to not remember.

The people that managed to get in the picture as well were all cheering and smiling behind him, and little Chouzu was by his feet, just waving at the camera like a child. I looked all the way down the posters, and each was of a winner of the Tenkaichi Budokai. I recognized Jackie Chun, laughing like an idiot and holding up a victory sign, and on the other side, Goku stood, grinning widely with the decimated ring behind him, and his new little wife by his side.

A numb feeling of nostalgia ran through me, and I jumped when the master's voice called my name. "Kushami!"

"Ah!" I shot my eyes to him, slight embarrassment taking over before regaining my composure and looking down at the old man. "Hey, I've got the money today. Woulda' gotten it to ya' earlier, but what can I say? Can't give money that you don't have," _–until after I take it from someone else,_ my mind continued as I handed him the bills.

He took them into his own and bowed slightly. "Ah, thank you, Kushami." As he walked away to put it in the box, he continued speaking. "You were looking at the posters, right?"

I glared back at him. "What do you mean by that?"

He ignored the threatening mood I tried to force on him and looked over at the pictures as if reminiscing. "All of them I managed to find in their original print, but the first one that I obtained was this." He gestured towards one of a young man from many years before, "It's a memory… of one of my greatest moments as a martial artist."

His eyes came back to me. "And as an old man that surrounds himself with memories, I know that look all too well: that look you had in your eyes when you saw that winner of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. You know him, don't you?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You must think yourself as really observant, old man."

"I might only be a prying old kook anymore, but could I ask how you know him?" I chose to remain quiet, but the silence just seemed to tell him more. "You loved him, didn't you?"

I suppressed the urge to pull out a gun and let him have a piece of my mind, but I let him see my anger in my stare. "So what if I did?"

But he smiled and shook his head. "I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, Kushami, but after so many years of training students to fight myself, I am easily able to see the frustration in your movement."

_What's with these guys and 'watching my movements'?_ "A little frustration never hurt anyone."

"But it's more than when you're training. I see it especially when you're around Yunnan. You both grew close in the time that you've been here, but you've _forced_ yourself into becoming closer. You… may or may not be aware of it." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "I just want you to recognize that you're ignoring your own feelings, and that will only cause you more pain in the end. I won't tell you how to run your life, child."

"You're being absurd," I barked back.

His hand lifted, and I returned my gaze to Tenshinhan's likeness. Internally, I shouted viscously that he was wrong and only a babbling geezer, but my entire body was cold. I remained still for a long time before pushing that old master away and rushing out of the dojo. The only thing I could think of was to escape… but to where?

I rushed to my apartment and capsulated all of my belongings, including my large collection of firearms. _I'll go knock over a bank… that'll cover it. That'll clear my mind. I've been itching to do some heavy stuff anyway; I've been sitting around comfortable for too long._ I made sure that I packed everything and told the landlord of my apartment complex that I was leaving immediately. He didn't seem to care one way or the other, but he did insist that I do paperwork since I'm leaving at such an unexpected time. This got us into an hour-long argument that really tried my patience, and I ended up just screaming at him and running out of the building.

I pulled out a capsule and threw it out by the curb, my Embrio bike appearing in a puff of smoke. Wasting no more time, I jumped on and squeezed the handle.

"Wait!" I felt a man's hand grab my arm, and the scent of floral cologne and roasted coffee went past my nostrils. I looked over to see Yunnan's relieved face. He was in his police uniform. "Kushami! Geez, I just heard that you were trying to leave your apartment. For a second, I thought you were going leave and not going to say goodbye. What's happened?"

I pulled my arm out of his grasp and looked away. "I'm tired of North Capital, so I'm leaving."

"What! But… this is so sudden… You really did intend on leaving without saying goodbye."

"Look, I don't belong here, in an apartment, spending all my time in a dojo, with a _cop_ for a boyfriend. This isn't my life." I pulled off the medical mask. "I'm tired of running from it."

"Kushami, I don't know what you're thinking, but now is not a good time to travel. Haven't you been watching the news? At about 11:40 p.m. today, East Capital had been decimated, wiped off the map, and no one can figure out why. People are panicking."

"What?" I lowered my eyes. _Then… those aliens that they talked about must have finally come._

"Please, just don't be so hasty. Tell me: Where do you intend to go? What do you intend to do?"

"A bank to the south," I growled. No sooner had I said it then I heard the click of a gun. I glared back at him. "I thought volunteers weren't allowed to have guns, or was I mistaken on that?"

Yunnan held the gun securely before him. "Kushami, I've known for a while who you were. Hell, your name's infamous in the police force. But since there hasn't been any records of your exploits for a while, and it seemed like you could honestly turn a new leaf—"

"Men are so foolish. You really thought that? Hmph."

"Kushami, I'm warning you… If insist on robbing that bank, I'll have to arrest you."

I scoffed at him. "And you think that'd be easy? Yunnan, you're not the first person to aim a gun at me." I quickly pulled out a piece of my own and pointed it back at him. "And I doubt you'll be the last."

Terror came over him, but his eyes weren't staring down the barrel as was common for someone who had a gun in their face. Instead, he was staring at me, and the sweat that dripped down his temples fell silently on his blue collar as he stood silently. The gun lowered, and his shoulders slumped, defeated. "Kushami…"

I felt a slight pang of guilt, but I ignored it and continued to sneer at him. "Enough of this. I'm not thirsty for tea anymore. You can give my goodbyes to the others for me, if you want." I put the gun to my side and drove off as fast as I could, not looking back as my curls thrashed violently behind me in the wind, as the city's buildings flew by me.

By the time I was on the road away from the huge city, it was past lunchtime. I thought about stopping at a restaurant for some fried rice before hitting that bank.

* * *

I couldn't _possibly_ think of what happens next. I mean, it's not like something substantial happens in the series to these characters at this time. –chuckle-  
A little side note: Tenshinhan's name comes from "Tien chun fan", a kind of fried rice. 


	22. Green Games

Disclaimer: Chapter one, damnitall!

God, this story is getting long. I don't know how I'll react if it somehow goes on for longer than 30 chapters.  
This is another chapter where a good deal of it is taken directly from a Japanese sub. That being said, there's not a lot happening in this chapter that you wouldn't already know about from just watching the series.  
Also, I thought I did mention this, but I might not have: The anti-sneezing medicine no longer works on Kushami (which is why she was able to sneeze even after taking the pills) because she's grown such a tolerance from overuse, and is the reason why she'd been wearing the mask.

**

* * *

.-T-.**

"Kuririn!" Chouzu called out ahead of me. Down below, we could see Kuririn, along with Piccolo and… a child. Two men stood before them, as well as six little, green creatures with red eyes.

We flew down and I landed beside them, looking on to out opponents.

"Tenshinhan!" Kuririn's voice displayed a decent amount of relief. "Chouzu, you came too, huh!"

Chouzu nodded, and then set his eyes forward seriously.

The number of opponents was the first thing I acknowledged. "I thought there were only supposed to be two Saiya-jin."

"Ma, it's a long story," Kuririn said, "There are more fighters now."

"It doesn't matter how many there are." I shifted my eyes over to inspect the kid again. "Is he Goku's child?"

"Yeah. It looks like Piccolo trained him quite a bit."

Such information would normally worry me. After all, Son Goku's offspring being taught by Piccolo… But the kid's eyes were as pure as Son's ever was. I returned my gaze before me. "I like the look on his face."

Yamcha appeared soon after, making it the whole group… without the dead Son, of course. Making our side a total of…

"Ichi… ni… san… shi… go…roku, huh?" The shorter Saiya-jin counted out. "This is interesting. The same number as the Saibai men."

The taller one laughed. "That's right."

"Well? Want to try fighting them one-on-one?" The smaller one spoke again. "A game."

Piccolo took offense to this and bared his fangs. "A game? What use is that! Stop these pointless games and let's settle this once and for all!"

Kuririn held up his hands towards Piccolo. "Now, now, calm down! It would work out well for us. Besides, Goku hasn't arrived yet."

"All right. I'll start." I stepped forward and slammed my fists together. "Come on!"

The larger one laughed again. "He'll be shocked when he finds out how strong the Saibai men are."

"Saa, which one is going to fight me?" I challenged.

The smaller one turned to one of the creatures. "You go first. Don't hold back, got it?"

The thing nodded in compliance and approached.

"T-Ten-san!" Chouzu called behind me, "Good luck!"

The Saibai man moved slowly to the right, as if in anxiety. My eyes kept square on him as he did, waiting for his move, not even moving into a stance. He would finally begin, running towards me with a battle cry as it raised its clawed hands before it. I went into stance immediately and pushed it back with the force of wind from my punch. As it fell back, I ran after it, intending to go on the offensive. It did a quick ushiro ukemi and sprung forward again, intending to meet my attack with its own.

But something strange happened: it's head actually _split open_, and some sort of liquid shot out. I stopped and jumped to my right immediately, dodging it. The others were in the path as well, and also scattered to avoid it. When the liquid hit the ground, it proved to be a highly corrosive kind of acid… that ate away the portion of land that it hit, leaving a long hole to signify where it landed.

I went behind the Saibai man and went on the offensive again. It had little time to react, so it jumped upwards, and I followed. I reached it and elbowed it in the abdomen, knocking the air out of it. It crashed to the ground.

"Th-that's impossible!" The larger Saiya-jin gasped, "The Saibai men all have a battle power of 1,200… enough to rival Raditz if you compared only power."

"Which means his power is even greater," the smaller one said matter-of-factly.

"B-but…!"

"It's simple mathmatics."

"But the data is…!"

The smaller one chuckled. "Nappa, it looks like they'll be able to entertain us a little bit, doesn't it?"

I was walking back to the group when Chouzu started getting hysterical. "Ten-san! It's getting up!"

I looked back to see the Saibai man, who had achieved getting up onto his knees, struggling to stand upright. Just as he did, the smaller Saiya-jin… blew it up. It seemed that everyone, even the other Saiya-jin, was shocked. "Vegita!" he said, "I don't believe it. Why?"

"It's a waste of time to continue this battle. It couldn't win," Vegita explained plainly. "That Saibai man took him too lightly." He looked sharply at the other Saibai men. "And I told it not to hold back."

Then he grinned and continued the game. "Saa, who's next?"

"You!" Nappa growled at the remaining creatures. "You'd better hid hard from the beginning this time!"

Kuririn gripped his fists and started forward. "Yosh! I'll fight!"

"Wait, Kuririn."

Kuririn looked back. "Yamcha-san?"

"Let me go. I want to show them that the fun and games are over."

"Yamcha-san, I can do that too—"

"You've been brought back to life by the Dragonballs once already. If the worst should happen, we can't bring you back again." Yamcha reasoned. "Let me handle this. I'll take care of the five that are left at once!"

**.-K-.**

I felt a certain amount of satisfaction. Blasting a gun into the air, demanding people to fall down and have their hands up, forcing the tellers to stuff the bag full of cash at gunpoint, running off with the goods; it was all part of the thrill of knocking over a bank.

But the rush didn't seem to fill me as it did in the past… There seemed to be something missing. I thought that perhaps it might have been the argument I had with Yunnan earlier that afternoon, but I doubted it highly. Then, I thought, that it could be the arrival of the aliens. _Maybe I'm worried about it… after all, all my friends are fighting, aren't they?_

By some strange coincidence it seemed, I overheard the televisions playing as I went by a store, with the voice of some announcer. "Those are the Saiya-jin! The ones that have plunged us into the depths of terror!"

I stopped my bike abruptly on the dirt road and looked through the window at the stack of screens displaying the report. "That face! A familiar one from the Tenkaichi Budokai!

"Yamcha," I said aloud, and found myself pulled towards the images.

"And this face…! Piccolo Daimaou!" The greed demon's surly face passed on the screen, and then over to a young kid that… looked a lot like Goku when he was a kid. Almost _exactly_ like him, in fact. For a moment, I was wondering if I was seeing things, then I remembered that Goku apparently had a kid with that little wife he got in the tournament.

The camera panned over the others… the aliens, which were short, green things along with two more Human-looking people, and our group, including Kuririn, Chouzu, and… Tenshinhan.

**.-T-.**

Yamcha attacked, and the pair went into a high-speed battle off the bat. We watched them carefully, not missing a beat of what was happening. Yamcha was on the upper hand almost since the beginning, and most of the fighting was really more of the Saibai man defending and trying to run away. Whenever it attempted an attack, it would receive a blow from Yamcha.

The Saibai man jumped and tried to grab Yamcha, but he disappeared from the Saibai man's view with his own speed and reappeared above, with the Saibai man's back wide open to him. Yamcha sent a ki blast into it, and slammed it into the ground with his energy, leaving a smoking alien in a small crater afterwards. It seemed that he had already won.

"Not again," Nappa muttered.

Yamcha turned around and scoffed. "I think you've been underestimating these monsters' strength."

Nappa raised a fist. "! What did you say?"

"Don't get worked up, Nappa," Vegita cautioned.

"I'll take care of the remaining four as well," Yamcha declared.

But instead, Vegita chuckled again. "Looks like _you've_ underestimated the Saibai men this time."

"What?"

Before we knew it, the Saibai man had launched up and grasped its limbs around Yamcha, pinning his arms down by his sides. Yamcha cursed and struggled to pull his limbs free.

_It's not going to…!_

The Saibai man glowed white, and there was an explosion.

"There. That's good," Vegita said as the smoke cleared.

"I don't believe it," Piccolo choked, "It blew itself up."

The smoke cleared entirely. Yamcha was lying alone in the crater. The only evidence of the Saibai man was one of its hands. Kuririn urgently went by his side and checked for life signs. It took him a few moments before he could answer.

"He's dead."

Kuririn had another long pause before he could speak again. "I think Yamcha knew that this might happen. That's why he took my place." His voice and body was shaking. "How am I supposed to tell this to Puar and Bulma!"

"What a pitiful Saibai man!" Nappa complained, "He had to destroy himself, too? Against trash like that?"

Vegita didn't seem to want to remark on the performance anymore, and called after Kuririn. "Oi. Clean up the mess, will you? Throw that trash out."

That was the remark that pushed Kuririn over the edge. He glared back at them and cursed them. "Everyone! Stay back! I'll show you the results of my training!" He went into stance, and he summoned a substantial amount of energy.

Vegita looked down to another Saibai man. "Go."

The thing sprung to fulfill its order, but when Kuririn's enormous blast shot forward, it stopped and it's survival instincts told it to jump out of the way and run.

When I felt the power emanating from that attack, I understood why he told us to stay back. "Clear away!" I called out before falling back. Such a powerful but slow attack… would it do any good?

The Saibai men cleared the way, leaving only the two Saiya-jin, who simply didn't seem interested in moving. But instead of hitting them, it deviated upwards at the last moment, and exploded into several smaller blasts that rained down on the enemies.

_So that was the plan._ I smiled. "He did it! Kuririn, are you all right?"

"Yeah," he replied in a tired voice, "but I missed one."

The one he missed burst out into view at that very moment, screeching as it jumped towards Gohan. Gohan defensively screamed and jumped backwards from its claws.

Piccolo simply grabbed the thing by the arm, threw it in the air, and decimated it in one hit.

I watched as the remaining pieces crumbled down from the sky. _I'm impressed, Piccolo. The thought of becoming your enemy again is frightening…_

"Thank you, Piccolo-san," Goku's child said innocently.

"Don't get the wrong idea. Why should I save you?" Piccolo said bluntly, "I was just warming up for the fabulous battle that's about to begin."

"If the fight goes the way you want it to, that is…" Vegita laughed. The Saiya-jin appeared from the smoke, looking completely unharmed from Kuririn's blast. "Then I suppose we can end the fun and games since all of you seem to want it."

"It's finally time for the main event!" Nappa grinned.

_Impossible! It didn't affect them at all! It should have been a direct hit._

"I-I hit them with everything I had," Kuririn said in disbelief. That's what Saiya-jin are like?"

**.-K-.**

I blinked. Everything was going too fast. Yamcha was doing so well. But, then there was a bright light… an explosion… and suddenly he's on the ground. I didn't see the green alien he was fighting anywhere, but Yamcha wasn't moving at all. Kuririn came down and knelt beside him, and he didn't stand back up for a long time.

I couldn't tell what was happening. I couldn't hear their voices.

But I didn't really need to hear their voices to know. "Yamcha has died…" I muttered aloud. The other people who had also gathered to watch the screens didn't seem to bother acknowledging my comment.

Kuririn went against them next, and instead of just watching quietly, I was actively rooting him on. "Come on, Kuririn! Show those alien bastards whose boss! Don't let them think that they can get away with killing Yamcha like that!"

Another bright flash and explosion came, and I winced, hoping that it wouldn't end up the same way as it did with Yamcha. But the smoke cleared to a better scene. The little green aliens were completely gone.

But the two big guys were still there, and I realized that they were the ones that everyone must have been preparing for the past year, and I remembered everything that Kuririn said when he came to take Tenshinhan to train with Kami-sama, and I felt sick to the stomach.

_If those two guys really are like Goku, then the five of them… might not be enough._

* * *

Ichi…roku – Vegita counting to six. You can now count to six. (Level-up music)  
Ushiro ukemi – Martial arts term. Basically a way to land and recover when fallen back or thrown. This one is rolling backwards into a stance. 

Since this was a real episode-full chapter, I will make sure that the next update is soon. After all, I'm on summer break now. (w00t)


	23. Barren Battlefield

Disclaimer: Cha-p-ter O-ne. This chapter will be a little more violent than the previous ones.

You guys must be wondering "Where the Hell've you been!" Well, besides my recently temperamental Internet connection (which seems to be _my_ computer's problem since the cable modem and the router are _fine_), I've been translating Japanese. In fact, I've been _scanlating, _and I just finished the doujin I was working on. I feel accomplished, now.

Once again, another episode-heavy chapter. But for good reason, I assure you.

**

* * *

.-T-.**

The Saiya-jin called Nappa has to be one of the most terrifying monsters I've ever seen. Much more terrifying than the green demon that was now sneering to the intense pressure and energy being emitted by this guy, along with the rest of us. Earlier, Piccolo had tried to head Nappa off while an assault was about to be launched against Kuririn. But Nappa overpowered him and kicked him right in the ribs. The impact winded Piccolo for a moment, perhaps more than he was willing to admit.

Chouzu continued to hover beside me, and he attempted to use his mental powers of control against the alien. He was visibly having trouble in his try.

"Chouzu! Be careful!" I warned.

He didn't listen as he pushed more energy into his powers, but all he succeeded in doing was annoying Nappa. The Saiya-jin simply turned his head and blasted him away as he continued to summon more energy for his attack.

When visible electricity was bouncing around his body, we checked our stances again. He was about to go on the offensive again.

"Now…" His voice was framed menacingly by the wailing of the energy crackling in the air around him, and his eyes scanned across the party slowly. "Which one of you will I take care of first?" Then his pupils jumped and landed square onto me, and he crowed a battle cry before launching himself at me.

His attacks came quick and heavy like an ax, and when one of them landed on the arm I'd blocked him with, I could feel that destructive heat of energy enter into the muscle and make the sinew clench. This horrible feeling distracted me as he leapt back for momentum of another attack.

Piccolo seemed to know what was going to happen "Tenshinhan! Dodge it!"

But I wasn't in such a state to hear his warning, and I attempted to block this next attack with the same arm. Nappa's fist cut through the air and sliced right into me. The impossibly-fast fight that I had to put all my concentration in my three eyes to watch had suddenly slowed down in my vision. Before the pain could set in, the surreal motion of my left forearm moving away from the elbow, almost floating along a stream of blood, captivated my consciousness. When time returned, I was screaming before I even knew it as I looked at the stub where my arm had just been severed.

I heard Chouzu shout my name, and I tried to regain my composure while I'd just become aware of the horrible pain. The Saiya-jin began to chuckle, and pulled back his fist, intending to finish me off.

I dodged and jumped up into the air, now in complete control of myself again. I focused energy immediately into the hand that I still hand, and pulled back for an attack of my own. "Bastard--!"

But he wasn't about to let me pull it off. He jumped up past me and kicked down into my abdomen, sending me down into the dirt. Over me, I could hear him laughing maniacally at my position.

"Tenshinhan-san!" Goku's son yelled out to me.

I tried to keep myself from groaning while I attempted to pull myself up again. I didn't really do a good job of doing either.

"Tsh. He's a tough one. Still alive," Nappa grumbled above us. Then he went quiet… preparing another attack.

"Tenshinhan!" I heard Kuririn's voice, and the approach of his steps.

"Wait!" Piccolo called after him. "He's done for! Leave him!"

Nappa didn't seem to like his involvement, and he threw down a few explosions between us. I could hear Kuririn scream as he was thrown back. When the smoke cleared, along with more of the creep's laughter, there was a large, bottomless hole where land used to be.

Kuririn gasped and looked around. "Chouzu! Did he get hit?"

I tried to pull myself up again and looked at each side myself. "Chouzu…" He wasn't anywhere to be found.

Nappa's laugh chilled me. "Don't worry. I'll send you to meet him in the next world right now."

I stood and sneered at him, cursing under my breath at the situation.

"Nappa!" The smaller Saiya-jin called out, with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Look behind you."

I caught a glimpse of Chouzu flying down before he latched himself onto Nappa's back. "Chouzu!"

Nappa turned his head, and struggled to reach for him. "Why you! When did you manage…? Let go of me!" If I wasn't so worried, I'd be laughing at how comical that huge bastard looked as he twisted around in the air, trying his best to reach his bulky arms to pull Chouzu off of him, cursing the whole time.

When Chouzu's energy flaired up, the Saiya-jin realized what he was trying to do, and he immediately flew off to slam his back into a rocky cliff, trying to force Chouzu off of him through the impact.

"Chouzu! Let go!" I cried out. But he held on as Nappa crashed into mountain after mountain. I wasn't sure how much of this he could take.

"He's a tough one," Nappa complained after hitting into the 7th or 8th structure, and he set off towards another one.

_Damnit! He can't take such hits like that! _ "Chouzu! That's enough! Just get back!"

_T-Ten-san…!_ I heard Chouzu telepathically. _Arigatou…_

I felt cold suddenly. "Wh-what are you saying, Chouzu? Run! Hurry and run!"

_I was really happy. _He continued, ignoring my shouts for him to escape_. It was fun being with you guys…_

I wasn't even bothering trying to speak purely through telepathy; I just spoke outright. "Chouzu! What do you intend to do?" _He couldn't be…_

_Sayonara, Ten-san. Please don't die!_

"You aren't going to… you can't be…!"

_Sayonara… sayonara…!_ The bluish energy that was emanating from Chouzu now crept over and enveloped Nappa as he flew through the air, still trying to find another place to smash Chouzu's body into. He seemed to find a suitable arrangement of spiked rocks and went towards it, all while Chouzu's energy poured over him.

"_Stop it! Chouzu!_"

I heard one last "goodbye" as the energy exploded, right before Nappa reached the rock formation, and a loud bashing, a sonic boom, expanded from that spot in the sky. I didn't have to see that red smoke clear to know that my friend, my last and only friend, was gone.

But when it did clear, what I saw turned out to be even worse. My heartbeat lept behind my ears as that dark chuckle came from the figure that still hung in the air. Nappa wiped his face of the "soot" as he spoke. "That was totally useless."

"Nappa," the smaller one spoke again, "He gave you quite a bit of trouble, it seems."

Kuririn shivered. "I-I don't believe it. He wasn't even affected? Chouzu gave his life!"

"Chouzu's been brought back to life by the Dragonballs once already. He won't be able to come back again!" I cursed and clenched my remaining fist and my jaw. "I'll make you pay for this!"

He only laughed at me. "It looks like you don't know the terror of our power yet! The only thing that awaits you is death!" He slowly drifted towards the ground. "Who's going to play with me next?"

"H-He wasn't phased at all," Kuririn backed away from the sight defensively. "Chouzu won't be able to rest in peace."

"Looks like his death was in vain," Piccolo added in with a tone that would have sounded matter-of-fact if he wasn't so intimidated by the Saiya-jin's power.

Sweat dripped down over my third eye, and my fist shook. "Unforgivable…! You'll pay for this!" I cried out and ran towards him, going on the assault as soon as I could. I put in blow after blow, trying with all my speed and willpower to get past his defenses.

But as quick as I could be, he was quicker. He blocked my blows easily, sometimes dodging and taking an opportunity to inflict a blow himself. But I continued to pour my strength into it; I wasn't going to let him get away, even if it cost me my life.

**.-K-.**

I kept screaming at the televisions as I slammed my fist against the pane of glass. "Kill him, Tenshinhan! Kill him! Don't let that bastard get away! Don't let Chouzu die for nothing!" As I watched, I screamed louder and louder, driving the other people who had stopped to watch farther away from me. My screams grew along with the horrible feeling of dread that rose in my stomach.

The more I watched, the more something in me seemed to say, _He can't win. That person he's fighting is just too strong._ But I didn't want to believe that. That's why I was screaming and bashing the window at such volume; I was arguing with the voice inside me. I didn't want to think that Tenshinhan could die, and I didn't want to think that the freak might get to live after killing off Chouzu.

It was like watching a train wreck, really. I couldn't stand to see Tenshinhan lose his arm; I screamed out his name time after time when I realized it was gone. But I couldn't bring myself to look away. He seemed to have been in a lot of pain, but he got over it so quickly… and it made me remember how focused of a fighter he could be.

And when I realized that Chouzu… _Chouzu_… died, I felt my knees quiver for a moment. He was the sweet one that kept Tenshinhan and I in line, after all. Despite his childish naïveté, he knew what we were doing, what we were feeling, and what we should do next. And he had grown on me just as Goku and Kuririn had before. But worse than that, something in me felt that Chouzu's death was a foreshadowing of what was to come. He and Tenshinhan were practically connected by the hip from training together for so long.

I knew that after leaving Tsuru-Sennin, after we parted, Chouzu was all that Tenshinhan had left.

One of the people actually mustered some courage to approach me in my state. "Ma'am… do you know that man? That one with the third eye?"

I glanced over at the speaker. It was a small man with a thick, black mustache and glasses. I didn't keep my eyes on him long before returning them to the television. "What of it?"

"You've been absorbed into this battle this whole time, but you haven't been so passionate about the people involved until he started fighting. Is he some sort of relation to you?" When I didn't answer, he put a hand on my shoulder. "Hey."

I pushed him away quickly, my eyes still fixed on the image before me. "Leave me alone!"

The image on the screen began to jump again, and static flickered in and out until the television showed only gray, vertical lines. I cursed loudly. "What the fuck is wrong with these things! What are those dumbass broadcasters doing!"

**.-T-.**

My lungs began to burn, and I stepped back a moment while I gasped for breath, my head hot with blood and my right arm aching with all the stress I've put on it.

Nappa chuckled in amusement again. "Run out of steam already? You'll enjoy the scenery in the next world soon."

_I've had enough of this 'next world' shit!_ I attacked him again, raining blows onto him again. But he soon found an opening in my fatigue and bashed me to the ground again. But I didn't waste any time to pull myself up again. I wasn't going to stop if I could help it.

Another shot to the abdomen… he punched me right in the gut. The force of the hit threw my body against a mountain wall, and I dropped face first onto the dirt. It was getting harder and harder to stand up each time I fell, and this time, I couldn't seem to move at all.

"Looks like this is it. I'll put you out of your misery soon!" He rose into the air again… I determined that this was a pattern of his to do so before he attacks, a fact that didn't aid me to know. And then he shot down, announcing his deathblow.

Piccolo appeared beside him before he could, and Nappa was whacked into a perpendicular motion towards Kuririn. After that, I wasn't sure what was happening. My senses became fuzzy, and it took all I had to keep myself from going unconscious. Along with my lost arm, I must have been getting internal bleeding from all the blows to my midriff. My eyesight was blurring, and I was even beginning to hallucinate. I heard different voices calling out my name, and at one point, I even saw an image of Chouzu standing before me, apologizing for not being able to help more.

I tried to rise again and again, but with no avail. Each time, my weakened arm would give way below me as I put my weight on it to push myself up, and I would fall again. But I was on my feet eventually, and above, I could see that Nappa was now fighting Kuririn and Piccolo simultaneously. _This is the only chance I've got._ "Chouzu, I'll avenge you! Then, I'll join you… I won't let you suffer alone!" I gathered all of my energy, every bit that I could muster from my body, into my hand. "This is my last Kikoho!"

I blasted all of my power at Nappa, who was so distracted from fighting Kuririn and Piccolo that he didn't realize that he was going to be hit until it was too late. Yellow dust span all around me in large clouds after the move was executed, and I pulled my eyes to look above me again, watching to see if I had succeeded.

The Saiya-jin still hovered in the air. He was in a defensive stance, and his armor had all but been destroyed, but he was otherwise unharmed. "What a scare."

My chest was too heavy to even to breathe by this point, and I felt myself plummet to the ground one final time. "_Munen…!_"

**.-K-.**

When the screens buzzed on again, I was there, still shouting. Kuririn and that Piccolo guy were fighting, but Tenshinhan wasn't to be seen. I went silent suddenly, and I felt panicked. The feeling didn't pass until I saw Tenshinhan again. He was struggling along the ground, but still alive, and that was enough to give me some relief.

The window was gathering still more people, but I was practically the only one right against the glass; the others kept an arced distance away from me. I didn't know or care if they left me room because I was causing such a stir, because of my infamy, or if they actually felt some sort of sympathy.

The camera stayed focused on the fight, but I was able to watch Tenshinhan in the corner from time to time. When he actually managed to stand again, the camera stayed on him more. I could see a light forming at Tenshinhan's remaining fist; I knew he was gathering energy for an attack.

The sound buzzed, and the screen flashed a bright, yellow light for almost half a minute. When it finally stopped, the lens had to be readjusted quickly, but it was fixed just in time to capture Tenshinhan as he dropped.

The camera stayed on him for the longest time, the cameramen apparently waiting for him to rise again.

But he didn't rise.

"Tenshinhan, get up! Come on!" I growled.

He didn't rise.

"Come on…"

Not a single movement.

"…Please…"

He was dead.

* * *

Munen – "Regret"; usually translated here as "I regret". 


	24. Fall to New Beginnings

Disclaimer: Chaper one. Chater one. Chapter oe. Chaptr one. Chapter ne.

Too. Many. Scenes. Directly. From. Anime.

**

* * *

.-K-.**

The noise of the bartender drying the glass was all that could be heard in the dark, almost deserted bar, save for the television.

"We continue to have no ability to show you footage of the battle site. We have no way to speculate on what's happening now or even if the battle has ended." The announcer droned. "The change in scheduling will now take us to a discussion on 'What will happen? And the path left for us.'"

The bartender finally clicked the TV off. "Che! So basically, they don't have a clue." I heard a short pause before he continued, obviously talking to me. "Oi! If you're going to sleep, go home!"

I groggily dragged my head up from the bar and glared at him. "…Shut up." I thrust my glass towards him. "Gimme another."

"Eh! You've already had ten!" he said skeptically, "Do you even have any money?"

Tired of talking, I simply pulled up the bag from the bank heist and dropped it on the bar, letting some stacks drop out. He balked and dropped his glass.

I didn't really care and laid my head back down. "Tenshinhan's dead too… I don't need money anymore..."

I thought for a moment on Tenshinhan's still figure, lying on the ground, not raising or moving a muscle. As I looked on that image earlier, I became really quiet and still myself. I didn't move for the longest time; I wasn't even sure if I was breathing. I snapped out of it when that man with the glasses and mustache put his hand on my shoulder, once again expressing concern. I quickly shook away the feeling, cursed at the man for coming near me again, and ran off until I found myself pulling up at this bar.

The glass in my hand began to shake, slightly at first, but gradually with more force.

The bartender noticed it immediately. "Oi, oi, are you all right?"

I let go of the glass. It continued to move. _This is…_

"B-by the way, do you have a place to stay?" His voice's tone made it obvious that he was preoccupied with looking at the bag while he spoke. "You can—"

"That sound," I said aloud.

"H-huh?"

I sat up straight again. "That sound! Can't you hear it?"

"W-what are you daydreaming about?" He grinned again and rapped a knuckle lightly on the television set, as if trying to reassure that nothing was going to happen.

And then the rumbling came.

We both stared at each other as the whole building shook with the earthquake. The glass that I had been drinking out of cracked, and things all over the bar began to fall. We burst out of the bar together and ran into the road, trying to get away from the shattering windows and bottles. He immediately flattened himself against the ground like many others, yet I… for some unknown reason… kept standing steadily.

I looked down to see cracks forming in the ground below me. Then screams prompted me to look up at the sky full of black clouds, just in time to see a mass of birds rise from the mountains in the horizon. Black birds.

"All the crows are flying away…!" I said, as if vocalizing my wonder if this was the end of the world. Goku was still fighting.

I asked myself if he was going to win.

I looked down at my legs, still not falling or shaking despite these omens or the earthquake.

I answered to myself that he will.

**.-T-.**

_Where am I?_

_Am I dead?_

_I don't see anything… I don't even see darkness…_

_I can't feel. I can't hear._

_How is it that I can think?_

_…Munen… why did I say that?_

_I said it that time, too… when I thought Piccolo Daimaou was going to kill me…_

_What do I regret? Not being able to win?_

_No… that's not it…_

_Maybe it was not being able to avenge Chouzu?_

_…No. The first time I said it, I was more preoccupied with testing myself as a martial artist than getting revenge._

_Did I just regret dying? When I had nothing left for me in life either time?_

_Wouldn't dying in battle be the best way?_

_I had nothing left, right…?_

All at once, I became conscious, standing in front of what looked like a large, wooden desk with the Kanji with a large, reddish man behind it. The first thought in my mind was that this was Enma from the legends, and that I was about to be judged on going to Heaven or Hell.

It turns out that I was partially right. "So, you have your body back now, Tenshinhan." His low voice shook the ground with its resonance. "You will be able to go on Snake Way to see Kaiou-sama, soon… Unless you'd rather take your judgment _now_." He said, looking somewhat bored as he spoke.

I blinked, but before I could say anything, I felt something come up against my shoulder. I looked over to see Chouzu floating beside me, with Yamcha not far behind.

"Ten-san!" Chouzu wined, looking at me sadly. "You didn't have to die as well… You should have tried to live!"

Yamcha looked at me solemnly at first before proceeding to explain the situation. "We're before Enma-sama, and we've been given a chance to go and endure the same training as Goku did in the afterlife until we're wished back as well. But, right now—" Yamcha looked over at Enma who was currently discussing something with a Kami-sama, "—there seems to be a problem with a fourth person from the battlefield coming with us. From what I overheard, Enma-sama doesn't think that whoever it is would be worthy."

"Who could it be?" I wondered aloud. After I died, the only people who would have been left were Son Goku's child, Kuririn, and Piccolo. Of these people, the most likely I felt would have died next would have been Kuririn, but I still didn't understand why he would have been unworthy.

It seemed that Kami-sama finally convinced Enma that whoever it was would be worthy, and the person was summoned right before us in a puff of smoke. Complete with a halo, Piccolo appeared.

All three of us had taken steps back, eyes wide open at him.

"How did you enjoy your temporary stay in Hell?" Enma boomed with some humor.

Piccolo frowned. "Boring."

At this time, I noticed that the rest of us (including Kami-sama) had similar halos above our heads. I groaned, wondering what kind of afterlife I was going to have if I had to share it with _Piccolo_. Kami-sama took little time to send all four of us out onto Snake Way before continuing with his own business with Enma.

During the walk, Yamcha walked out in front with an air of pride. Chouzu hung by my shoulder as he always did. Piccolo stuck behind us, looking generally unamused. Yamcha didn't take long to try to start a conversation, but the only one who seemed interested in getting involved with it was Chouzu.

I was too busy thinking.

_Maybe… maybe I regretted having nothing to lose?_

**.-K-.**

A while after the battle, leaving five casualties and injuries for anyone else involved, I received a call on my cell from Bulma.

"We picked up Tenshinhan's body, along with the others', and stored them in those units I designed to keep them from decomposing," she said after exchanging the obligatory pleasantries, "If you want, you can see them."

I thought for a moment. "Did you even manage to find Chouzu's?"

There was a pause. "No. I'm afraid that there was nothing left of him."

"I see…" I cleared my throat. "I don't really have any time to go down to West Capitol, though." This was an absolute lie. I had been completely inactive, crimes and all, after that day.

"Really? Don't you even want to come down to the hospital to visit Goku? I'm sure that he'd really appreciate it; he's wrapped up like a mummy with doctors and nurses watching him like hawks, making sure he doesn't get up and try to train. He's probably bored out of his mind."

"I would, but… I just can't spare it."

"Well… if you change your mind," then her tone flipped, as if something else came to mind, "Hey! Do you want to come with us when we go to Namekku-sei?"

"To _where_?"

"It's Piccolo's home planet," she said hesitantly before continuing in a hasty voice, "We think that there'll be another set of Dragonballs there, so we can resurrect them. I thought that, well, you might want to come to help resurrect Tenshinhan…"

"And Chouzu." I added promptly.

"Well, it's hard to say about Chouzu… since he died before, and we can't find his body, we might not be able to bring him back…"

I felt cold. "I'm sorry. I don't think I can come help with that, either."

"Are you sure? You'd probably be a big help, since Goku won't be able to come, and you can be pretty scary. Besides, if I get stuck on this mission, too, I don't want to be the only female on the ship. You and Lunch were always there to make me feel less awkward around a bunch of muscle guys, y'know?"

I tried not to feel guilty. "I'm sorry, but I can't go."

"Could you at least come see us off? Goku's son might be there, and you have to see him. He looks exactly like Goku did when he was young."

"I doubt it…" I didn't feel like I could face his kid. "Look, I have to get off," I lied, "So I'll talk to you later. Good luck." I pressed the red button and pocketed the phone.

I couldn't stand a trip through space… especially if it'll just end in finding Tenshinhan doesn't want to come back to life. I knew that if Chouzu couldn't come back, then Tenshinhan's spirit would try to find a way to stay dead as well. He was like that.

Trying to find something to occupy my mind, I rooted through my bag lying beside me on the hotel floor. I still hadn't spent most of the money that I stole about a week earlier, and I had to push aside several green stacks before I could find anything else.

I came across the sneezing pills that no longer worked and the medical mask. I took them both and flushed them down the toilet promptly; I didn't feel like I needed them anymore. Then I pulled up a small scrapbook that I had started to collect after I parted from Tenshinhan, containing pieces of evidence about my parents.

The scrapbook was a square, leather-bound thing that I found at a market while passing through some towns, and the pages were uneven with pieces of fringed paper from where I put in newspaper clips that would be bigger than the book, so they hung out the edges. I opened it carefully and turned to their place of residence; it was a large mansion in a rural area, nearby a modest hamlet called Eggtown. The house's style was more Western, like a Victorian country house or something like that. But the courtyard and the walls surrounding it were definitely more Japanese uptown-urban, complete with a plaque engraved "Itadaki" in Kanji by the gate.

I let the thought turn over in my mind a few minutes before I pulled out a map. "I think I just found something to keep me busy."

**.-T-.**

The real annoying part about going down this road was that we didn't hear the result of the fight until a few months later, after we reached Kaiou-sama's planet. But there, we got to talk to Son Goku immediately through Kaiou-sama, and any worries that we had were obliterated. And the beginning of our training ensued quickly afterwards… after a brief period to prove that we're worthy (that I won't go into, but at least I beat Piccolo in it).

The news now is that they're all going (or currently on) Piccolo's home planet to use the Dragonballs that should reside there to resurrect us, but there seems to be a problem. Vegita, as well as some sort of troop under the command of some creature named "Freeza", are there as well. I'm not completely sure, but it seems that Freeza is even stronger than Vegita (which is hard enough to take in). Kaiou-sama even made us promise not to ever get involved with this guy, lest we spur him to cause havoc for any innocents that could be pulled into the fight.

As much as this presence should worry me, at this time I've been more interested in the training than in what fights might appear after I am resurrected. I'm sure that Goku can take care of things before we get there and bring us back to life, and if that Freeza guy's still there, I'm confident enough in myself that I'll be strong enough to provide some sort of help.

Back on the training: Kaiou-sama's methods are… rather unorthodox, to say the least. As if it's not enough to receive our training from a large, blue, insectish-thing (and the sunglasses… I wonder if that's coincidence). Our first task is to catch his pet monkey, Bubbles, which proved to be no easy challenge. The three of us have been sprinting around this heavy planet, being made fools of by this animal. I tried using a mallet that I found to slow it down; only succeeded in slowing me down… and denting a car (Kaiou-sama didn't seem too happy about that). He explained to me soon afterwards that the mallet was used for a different training (it better not be something like whack-a-mole).

Even though it's ridiculous, I didn't let that stop me. As I did before, I poured everything I had into training, but I was able to do so without worry now. I didn't spare any of my attention elsewhere, and I don't even have to rest for my health or worry about injury. There's really no reason for me to me idle and left with a wondering mind.

Being dead has its perks.

* * *

I have no idea what kind of Kanji would be used in "Itadaki", and I can't go making something up because the Japanese dictionary server is down again. Oh well. I doubt I could get Kanji to work on here, anyway. 


	25. To Remember to Return

Disclaimer: It's in chapter one. Go there. And I don't own Kleenex.

Whee! I finished this almost immediately after I posted the last chapter, but I decided to delay the upload a bit again!

**

* * *

.-T-.**

The whole day had been scorching hot. Chouzu was barely able to last up with me while we trained outside, and he was very glad when he got to use cooking dinner as an excuse for going inside early. However, when I entered, I didn't get greeted with the burst of cool air like I expected. It was cooler than outside, but the AC seemed to be on the fritz again. I sighed and picked up a towel to wipe off my sweat.

Kushami entered the living room from I supposed the bathroom, as her hair was tied back and looked slightly damp. She was eating a rather large peppermint stick and headphones over her ears, completely oblivious to me as she trotted in with the beat to whatever she was listening. Better still, she was pantsless, wearing only her shirt and panties, probably to endure the heat.

I chuckled to myself and grabbed her while she wasn't looking, smiling as I pulled her towards me. She blinked and shot her head towards me before pushing back her earphones and pulling away her peppermint stick. "Tenshinhan! Damn you! Don't surprise me like that!"

"Couldn't resist," I mused, and kissed her. "Mmm," I pulled away and licked my lips. "You taste good."

She waved her peppermint at me. "I wonder why."

"No, really, I might skip dinner and have _you_ instead." I smirked and kissed her again, bringing her more against me. But I felt Chouzu's presence enter the room a second later, and pulled her away from me. "But we really should eat first. We can't hurt Chouzu's feelings, can we?"

Kushami swiped at me half-heartedly with her peppermint, returning my smirk with one of hers. "Fine, I'll go put something on."

I turned towards the kitchen, partially regretting how hot it could be in there, when I heard Kushami sneeze behind me. I whirled my head around to see Lunch, looking slightly confused by her change of location. She saw me and smiled. "Oh, hi Tenshinhan!"

I smiled back at her. "Hello, Lunch. Dinner's ready. You might want to put something on, though."

She titled her head before she looked down on herself, and her whole face was immediately covered with a thick blush. "Y-yes, I'll go do that."

I laughed a little, and I thought lightly on when was the last time I felt so happy.

.-.

I groaned when I pulled my head from the ground. "Damnit, I fell asleep again…"

I heard Yamcha laugh from the side. "Old habits die hard, huh?"

Sleeping and eating wasn't necessary for the dead, but death didn't keep us from doing these things regardless. Such occurrences that ebb back from our lives wouldn't have bothered me so much if it weren't for the dreams that I would occasionally have. I tried not to ponder on the dreams, or how a dead man could even have dreams, before I went straight into training again.

But it's not like I would have time for either sleeping or training. Goku reached the planet Namekku-sei, and a series of battles grabbed our attention from anything else. Before we knew it, Piccolo had been resurrected and transported to the planet (much to Kaiou-sama's dismay) leaving the three of us to stand by Kaiou-sama, waiting for any bit of news that could come from the battles.

Goku was reaching levels that I might never be able to reach using his alien DNA, and even though I was rooting for him as he fought Freeza, I couldn't help but think that I might never be able to become stronger than him. The battle progressed, people were wounded, and people were killed. Kuririn was among the casualties.

"That idiot… If he only finished off Freeza before he reached his full power, this would never had happened…" Kaiou-sama now groaned, a statement that didn't exactly fill me with hope.

_Kaiou-sama! Kaiou-sama?_ A mental transmission from someone, a familiar presence, was being sent that was so "loud" that Chouzu and I could hear it easily. Even Yamcha seemed to have been able to pick it up. _This is the Kami of the Earth speaking, Kaiou-sama._

_I can hear you, Kaiou-sama answered, What do you want?_

_I have collected the Dragonballs, and Mr. Popo is bringing the remaining one._

_And?_

_Ah, hai… So we can now bring Tenshinhan and Yamcha back to life, whenever they're ready._

_Ah, of course._

_However, as you know, Chouzu cannot be brought back, being that he had already died once before,_ Kami-sama said regretfully.

Chouzu's head bowed sadly.

"Don't worry, Chouzu," I said in effort to reassure him, "I'll stay here with you. We'll stay friends forever."

"No, Ten-san. You can't!" He raised his hands before him and waved away the suggestion worriedly.

"If you guys are staying here," Yamcha clocked in with the protective, hero spirit that he's always had, "then I'll stay as well!"

"What are you talking about?" I turned to Yamcha, feeling somewhat annoyed about such a hasty declaration. "Bulma's waiting for you."

Yamcha tensed up. "But…"

Our argument was momentarily stopped by Kaiou-sama as he continued to talk with Kami-sama about the specifics on Earth's Dragonballs. But it of course continued soon later, when he pulled me aside from Kaiou-sama as he kept watch over the battle in Namekku-sei.

"What's the idea of bringing Bulma into this!" he growled, "You say that as if _you_ didn't have an obligation to Lunch!"

"He's right, Ten-san," Chouzu came in, "You can't stay here, either. Lunch-san and Kushami-san are waiting for you as well."

"The way I see it, you have _twice _the obligation I do to return!" Yamcha furrowed his brows at me.

I sighed. I hadn't told anyone about what happened between Kushami and I after that day, and I managed to keep myself from having to speak about her all this time. I figured it was best that Chouzu and the others didn't know, and that it would only give them unnecessary worries. "Lunch and Kushami have better things to do than wait for me."

They both stepped back a bit, making sounds of confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?" Yamcha said.

"I trained all the time, neglected her, was overprotective of her, and I did terrible things to her… I don't deserve her," I explained flatly, trying not to let emotion come in on me as I spoke.

"What? Wait, I know that you can seem a little overbearing at times, but come on!" Yamcha faked a laugh. "Anyone that can put up with a girl like Lunch is pretty amazing."

"That's just it. I can't put up with her, and she can't put up with me." I turned away a bit. "We broke up not long after we began training at Kami-sama's temple."

Chouzu frowned. "Ten-san…"

"Why didn't you tell us about this before!" Yamcha fumed, "And why do you think she wouldn't want to see you come back to life! Lunch isn't the kind of person that would want you to die, and I doubt that even Kushami would want that, not matter how hotheaded she can be!"

"He's right!" Chouzu balled his fists defensively. "They have to be waiting for you, no matter how angry Kushami might have been! They both still love you! They have to!"

I shook my head. "I'm not so sure about that…"

**.-L-.**

_How long have I been out?_

The first thing I did when I sneezed was look at a calendar. It'd been months since I last transformed again, and I sighed. I didn't mind when a couple of days were lost, but I didn't like losing such long periods of time. It confused me a lot and I always felt like I was getting left behind somehow.

Whatever was keeping me from returning to my normal self must have stopped, though. The next time I sneezed, I came back only half a day later, and this more natural pattern stuck. However, whenever I came to, I felt woozy, sometimes dizzy, and I would often trip on the various bottles that would usually be lying around in whatever room or apartment I happened to be in at the time. There were even times that I came to in a bar, still with the same wooziness, just with people looking at me strangely for my transformation.

I also realized that my eyes always felt hot, and when I looked in a mirror, they looked red and puffy. I wondered if I was sick, so I decided to do something that I learned to do when I was younger to find out. I took a piece of paper and wrote on it a question to ask my other self, it said, "What's wrong?" and I folded it up and put it in my pocket.

It worked like always, and when I came to from another sneeze, I found a balled up piece of paper in the same pocket. I pulled it out and opened it to find that it was the same paper, and the answer was written right beside my question, written in a handwriting that looked like my own except the strokes were more brusque and not as neat:

"Tenshinhan and Chouzu are dead. Yamcha has died, too."

I stared at the words for a long time until I felt tears rolling down my face. Then I dropped the paper and put my hands over my face. I cried really hard all night, not wanting to leave from the strange motel room that I found myself in. For the first time in years, I felt completely alone. I felt like I didn't have a friend in the world. I felt like everyone had left me behind while I was transformed. I kept sobbing until I had no tears left.

But no matter how much I didn't want to move, my other personality seemed to think otherwise. Whenever I sneezed, I found myself at a new place. There was a map and a leather book with a bunch of clippings in it, and I eventually figured out what was happening. I was going towards Eggtown to see the Itadaki mansion. I didn't realize until I came up to clippings about a birth of "Itadaki Lunch", mentions of her orphaned, and pieces her case files that the Itadaki mansion was actually my home.

I started to cry again, and I wondered if I could fit in somewhere in the childhood home I forgot.

**.-K-.**

Eggtown didn't take much of a road trip, but there were several empty tissue boxes and liquor bottles in my wake. I managed to calm down the drinking, but as soon as I let Lunch know about Tenshinhan and Chouzu, the amount of money that I had to spend on Kleenexes peaked.

When they said that Eggtown was a rural hamlet, they weren't kidding. The town was little more than a few dirt roads running between some houses and small businesses. There were several private farms nearby (and by "nearby", I mean two or three kilometers away), and there were only a few businesses that had branches elsewhere.

And the community was tight knit enough; an older man walking down the market immediately picked me out as an out-of-towner. "Hey!" He said in his Northern accent, "You're not from these parts! You a city girl?"

I didn't really like being called out. "Yeah, what is it to you?"

He laughed. "No mean to offend, ma'am, just curious why a pretty woman such as yourself would come to a back-woods place like this. Just passing through?"

"No, actually. I came about the Itadaki mansion."

"The Itadaki mansion!" He shrunk a bit from me. "You ain't someone with a big check trying to buy up the place, are you?"

"I might be," I said nonchalantly, "What's it you you?"

He shook his head. "No one's been interested in that house ever since Zen and Toffee died years ago. People I guess think it's cursed. The bank technically owns it right now, but no one ever goes in to take care of it, and it's starting to get creepy to go by it at night."

I asked him to direct me to the bank, which hid did rather reluctantly. When I entered, I stifled the urge to pull out a firearm and shoot up the place. After all, I was here on legal business.

But I hadn't exactly bought property in a while. Even though I was sure that I had enough cash on me at the moment to cover whatever price they throw at me, I doubted that the large bills would keep me inconspicuous. Worse, since I stole my money _from_ a bank, the numbers on the bills might be recorded on the database as stolen.

How lucky I felt when I found that this boondocks bank had no branches or affiliates, and that they were used to transfers in big bills. Farmers that are paranoid with others handling their money made things a lot easier for me.

And when I finally got to see the mansion, I discovered that the guy was telling the truth when he said no one was keeping the place up, or so much as _entering_ the place, for that matter. I had to jig the key a bit before the old lock would turn (geez, I never have such a hard time _picking_ locks), and when I shouldered the door to wrench the thing open, I fell into a room that seemed at first to be nothing more than dust and cobwebs.

I was surprised that I didn't sneeze, but I coughed and hacked like a chain smoker with asthma for what seemed like hours. When I could finally get my wits about me, I opened my eyes to a well-furnished windbreak antechamber, wall to wall with antiques and authentic artwork, displayed to astound any new visitors. Everything was covered thick with dust, but there didn't seem to be any water kind of water damage.

I laughed to myself a bit, thinking that if I didn't own this place, I would loot it clean in a second. "It seems that the bank didn't even enter the place, let alone liquidate the furnishings."

Finished with this antechamber, I went ahead through the big wooden doors on the other end, which creaked harshly for want of oil in the hinges, and burst into the main foyer. Where the short hall I was in before was impressive, it couldn't hold a candle to the swooping double-staircase and the dark, marble floors of this expanse. The furniture was for the most part in the same condition as the room before, but the once fine rugs that lined the stairs and spotted the floors still managed to become tattered from age, and the chandelier hanging above looked far from safe.

A tall portrait at the left caught my attention, and I approached it. Within a gold-leafed, wooden frame was a family of three: A man stood above the rest, wearing his purple hair short and balancing a pair of glasses before his dark eyes. His suit looked gray; I couldn't tell if it was painted that way or if the dust hid the real color. The smile on his lips and the cut of his face showed him to be a young, caring man rather than a business tycoon. A woman sat beside him, her blond, curly hair tied back to show off her big, foreign-looking green eyes. Her aquamarine dress had a modest design, but I knew that the material she wore was likely some fine silk. She looked young as well, yet her smile seemed much more motherly.

And on that woman's knees, in a pink dress and a big, red bow in her purple hair…

The dust that I've been kicking up settled on me, and I started to react. _Damnit!_

_**Achoo!**_

* * *

In Japan, "Northern" accent is associated with what we would call a "Southern" accent, since there are more farms in Northern Japan.  
I already started the next chapter a few couple of days before I uploaded this as well, just so you know. 


	26. Can't Ruin the Mood

Disclaimer: Chapter one.

World keeps movin'…

* * *

**.-L-.**

I feel like I'm useful and important again!

Ever since I got to Eggtown, I kept sneezing in and out in the mansion that I must have been in when I was a child. It took a long time to clean up the place, since the dust kept making me sneeze, but I must have been fixing up the place while I was transformed; almost every time I come to, I see that something else has been fixed or replaced.

It probably took a lot of money to buy the house and fix it, and I knew that the money I had (I know I must have stolen it earlier) was going to run low sooner or later. I was afraid that I would steal money again just to the new house and myself up, but I didn't think I could get a job. I felt that if I tried, I would do something bad to my boss and coworkers when I sneezed, and people in town would start liking me a lot less.

But I did something that I didn't expect after I sneezed again!

I started a business!

It's a trucking business called "Lunch's Express", and its under my given name (Itadaki Lunch). I had already gotten a few trucks, and they have the cutest little decal logos on the side saying the name of the business, my own name in katakana, and little hearts throughout the text (I designed it myself when I wasn't transformed)!

I don't have many people working for me yet, and the ones I have seem to be a little frightened of me when I sneeze. But they seem happy about it regardless, and I'm pretty sure that I haven't hurt them when I have sneezed.

I really like Eggtown, too. The people are very friendly and warm, and they all accept me. They mostly figured out my problem with sneezing after a while, and they said that my other self is "a little unruly and acts like a city slicker," but they don't mind that much. They seemed to have gotten used to it really quickly, saying that everyone has their own problems and that's just how I am, and I don't seem to be stealing their stuff, hurting them, or anything like that.

Some of the people in town remember my parents, and some even remember _me_ when I was younger. They ask if I remember about when I was younger, and they ask how it was growing up without parents, but I have to tell them that I don't really remember all that far back. A lot of them seem to think that I got adopted and I just don't remember my biological parents or being orphaned (the truth is, I don't remember growing up at all!).

But the house is way too big for me to be living in alone. I keep wondering how my parents could have possibly liked having all this room, even after having me. But I think I like the space a lot in my other personality, and the place is really nice, even though it's too big. It's a lot of space to clean up regularly, so I closed off some areas and rooms that I knew I wasn't going to use and put plastic over the furniture in those places.

After so many years of living with others, it's really lonely to live alone, so I go out and talk with everyone else in town a lot, and I've even invited people over from time to time.

Today, I've been talking to a little old lady named Ranou. She lived in Eggtown all her life, and she remembers my parents well.

"They were a real scamp couple, y'know," she said, and she chuckled, "They were only married three years before you were born."

"Really?"

"It's too bad that you don't remember them yourself. Such a happy couple; I think you got that sweet charm of yours from them, personally. But I guess it makes sense, being that they died when you were so young."

"Were they nice?"

"They were the warmest people that you'd ever see. Both of them took care of people in the town… Why, one year there was a bad frost, and crops all over the county were ruined. Many of the farmers and their families thought they were going to fall out, possibly starve. But those parents of yours, they bought up all the bad produce and kept the farming families in business."

"Wow… I heard that they were ruthless in business, though."

She huffed. "I don't know about that. They say that the both of them were two-faced when it came to money, but I'm not sure if I believe that. My husband once said that even though they're nice people, they're still businessmen, and businessmen are cutthroats on the market."

I was quiet for a bit, thinking. "I really wish I could meet them…"

"Here, dearie," she said, pointing her walking stick to some grassy hills with a bunch of stones scattered on it. "Your parents' ashes have been buried in the town graveyard. You wanna go and pay them a visit?"

I smiled and nodded. "That would be nice."

Ranou-san lead me through many rows of markers before we came to a stop before a particular pair. I knelt down and read the Kanji on one. "Itadaki Zen." I turned and read the other, which was written both in English and a combination of Kanji and Katakana. "Itadaki Tafii. Toffee Parkins."

She took a few steps back, I guess to leave me room, but I continued to read over the stones, over and over again. Then I clapped my hands together and gave a nod to them, to tell them hello, and to tell them I was here.

I stood up, and I turned towards Ranou-san, but another marker caught my eye and I approached it as well. This one was a little older, but the name read "Itadaki Hiru", and the time of death was, somehow, before the time of birth. "Who is this?"

"Oh!" Ranou-san exclaimed, as if remembering something. "I told you that your parents were a scamp couple. Toffee was actually pregnant not a year after they married."

"Really?" I looked back at her. "But I thought you said I was born three years afterwards…"

"I did. You see, that first one ended in a miscarriage. Died as an unborn at six months, I'm afraid. It was quite unfortunate when it happened." She sighed.

"What happened?"

"It was a good day, nice and sunny after a long rain. Everyone thought the weather'd be fair, and there weren't really any worries. Your mother decided to take a walk, her stomach as swollen as it could be.

"An earthquake ripped through, rated 4 on the rector scale. There wasn't really much of any warning. Toffee ended up falling over and getting hit by falling debris. By the time anyone found her, she was unconscious and bleeding terribly. They got her to the hospital, and she came out fine, but the child didn't survive."

She approached the stone, still looking up to the sky and reminiscing. "It would have been a little girl. She and Zen decided to bury its remains and gave it a name. They would often come here to pray before it, especially when she became pregnant with you. They asked the unborn spirit to protect you and watch over you."

I smiled, placing my hands together again, and I bowed deeply before it. "Arigatou Gozaimasu." Even though I didn't clap my hands together to gain the spirits' attention this time, I had a feeling that I was still heard.

**.-T-.**

Being resurrected is an unusual experience. I imagined that it'd be like dying backwards. I suppose that it was a little like that, but there was such a stark difference between being dumped into a darkness for all of your senses and having your senses ripped apart and together again into a working consciousness. But I didn't feel disoriented by this, nor did I give myself the time to be surprised on how easily I adjusted.

Instead, standing by the glow of the Namekku-sei-jin Shenlong, I looked over at Chouzu and nodded. He sobbed and lept over to me, as if he was more afraid of my life not returning than his own.

Well, perhaps he was afraid.

When we found that the Namekku-sei-jin Dragonballs could bring people back to life multiple times, there was no way to measure our relief. Afterwards, Yamcha elbowed me with a smirk, telling me that I didn't have an excuse to not return home and "take my lumps". Slow as I can be at such matters (I admit), it took me a full minute before what he implied at it, but we were all deep into our regular training schedule again by that point, so I just made a mental note to prod him angrily about the comment later.

It was refreshing to see everyone again, acting genuinely happy about our resurrection. With all our friends along with that population of green aliens standing out before Capsule Corp., it looked like a party was well underway. It seemed the partygoers were simply still for this event, and would jump right into celebration as soon as the mood swung that way.

Of course, it wasn't exactly a party. The first two wishes on this Shenlong spent on Chouzu and I, the Namekku-sei-jin used the third to transport themselves away from Earth, to a world we might or might not hear from in the future. However, I felt that if Kami-sama and Piccolo were held anything in common with their race then we sure as Hell could count on seeing them again. Those two were always damned persistent in popping up incessantly when you least expected it.

There was one person that was not present, and as much as I tried to ignore it, as the Nameks left, as the darkness turned back to day, and as the people we associated with dwindled as they went home, it was harder and harder to keep it out of mind. When it came down to practically only the residents of Capsule Corp., I tried to make my leave, but Bulma stopped me.

"I tried to call Lunch, Tenshinhan," she said, grabbing my arm as if she was able to force me to stay put.

"It's okay. I didn't expect her to come, anyway."

She grinned and shook her head. "Don't try acting like that. Yamcha told me everything after he came back to life. He was pretty worried about you, and we both agreed that you should go see Lunch _immediately_."

I faked a smile just as Chouzu came up by my other side. I was now being flanked. "Really. It's no big deal."

"You know, I only got her answering machine? Turns out, she got her own business. That's actually how I found her, since father was doing some business in the countryside and found the shipping company 'ランチ の Express'. She's actually doing pretty well with it, too."

I stared back at her. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am! Though I can't imagine her doing something like that myself, unless Kushami used it to smuggle goods from one place to another." She laughed. "Then, I can see it perfectly. Probably why she's doing so well."

I was silent for a while then I tried to move to get past her. "Well, it's good to know that she's all right. Come on, Chouzu."

When I jerked my arm out of her grasp, she sneered and grabbed me again, this time making sure to dig her nails into my skin. I cringed.

"Can you really forgive yourself for not going to see her?"

I didn't answer.

She sighed and pulled out a paper. "Here." A second later, it was slapped onto my chest. "It's her address. Eggtown's pretty far from here, but I'm sure a guy with your abilities can get there pretty fast, ne?" She let go and went inside, waving without looking back before trotting in and shutting the door.

I frowned and reluctantly looked over at Chouzu. Just as I thought, he was hovering there with that look on his face. "Ten-san…"

_Damnit all…_ I pulled up the paper, now wrinkled from Bulma's handling, and read over the address. Shaking my head, I pocketed it.

"Ten-san?" He said again.

"She could have at least gone through the trouble of giving us a map as well," I said, and I started walking. "Let's go, Chouzu. If we hurry, we might be able to make it in time to share dinner with her."

"H-hai!"

* * *

Ranou – yolk.  
Hiru – noon. If you follow hiru with "meshi" (food) or "gohan" (meal), it means "Lunch". 

It turns out that the trucking company that Lunch seemed to have been working for in that episode of the Buu saga was actually her own. The decal that she's talking about is actually on the side of the truck that appeared in the episode.  
I'll be going to college again soon, so the next chapter might take a while.


	27. Hello

Disclaimer: Chapter –(2+3x5-18).

Jujiri, you've always been one of my more perceptive readers. You picked up that I made Bulma a little mean; that's because I accidentally wrote her with Nami (from One Piece) more in mind rather than Bulma, and I didn't realize it till afterwards (by which time I could have changed it, but decided that it wasn't necessary). Their personalities aren't too far from each other, but it was still a quirky mistake…  
Poor Lunch has had so little airtime in this fic. That's going to change. In fact, this whole chapter is going to be in her personality. It's even extra long for her.

* * *

**.-L-.**

There's a shipment that has to reach the client by tomorrow at noon, and my workers are already shipping elsewhere. Well, I know how to drive a truck, and I don't have a problem with it. Besides, sometimes it can be pretty fun; driving down the country roads and seeing all the land can be… inspiring. The countryside is so pretty, and it feels so calming. I really like it.

The road that I'm taking for this job is really interesting, too. It used to be a rice field years ago, I heard, but it actually had a bad flood that broke the banks of a big river nearby and the whole area was flooded. The waters didn't recede, and the levels were too high to use them as fields anymore. You can still see some of the terraces rising out of the water, but the area is more water than ground.

The elevated dirt road is still there and intact, and people still use it to cross. I love crossing it; it's just so magical. One strip of road running across the water, winding a little bit… it's like driving across the top of a lake.

But I've never driven down it this late in the day. The sun's about to set, and it's getting darker. It's even prettier with the setting sun, but I'm starting to get a little… worried. This road is really long, and it'll probably be well into the night before I get off of it onto a different road. Well, other truckers use this road and travel it at night all the time (some other shipping companies run on this road, too), so I shouldn't have anything to worry about.

_It rained last night didn't it? That's why the road's slushy…_

It turned into night, and I didn't realize how tense I was until I pulled a little hard on one turn, and a back wheel swung and the right-back tire slipped off from the road. I knew what was happening while it was happening; it was like it was going in slow motion. But I couldn't escape. I could feel my weight lifting as the truck fell, and cold water blasted into the truck through my open window. The force of it knocked me to the other side, and my back slammed hard against the door.

Then, I was completely submerged, and I couldn't move. I was still against the door, the weight of the truck dragging me deeper. I was drowning. I didn't know that the old rice fields were this deep. It was so dark… The only light I could see were from my headlights, and those were dying.

_Is it really going to end here? Am I really going to die here? But…! I finally found a place where I belong!_

_Don't worry. You'll be fine, _said a voice. I never heard it before, but it felt familiar.

_Huh? Who's there?_

_Only you are here. This is just a little water. Nothing to get your panties in a knot over._

_What's going to happen to me?_

Geez… I'm not going to let anything hurt you, okay? We've always been able to defend and protect ourselves.

My whole body was burning, despite the cold water. My vision was so blurry, and my mind was so cloudy. Was I going insane? I still couldn't move. Every time I tried to move, my heart would thrash painfully and my lungs would burn even more. I panicked and gasped. The cold water rushed into me, and I burned even worse.

_I don't want to die!_

_Idiot! I just told you that you're not going to die!_

_I'm scared…_

_Che! Don't be._

_Someone, help me!_

_I'm going to, but this is the last time, okay?_

The burning died away. It died into cold.

_I can't protect you anymore._ The voice was growing more distant, but it still sounded strong. _Ah, I'm sure you'll be fine… You're a survivor, right?_

The voice was gone, and my vision and head cleared. I could suddenly move again, and I swam as quickly as I could through the window and towards the road. All the pain seemed gone, but I was still scared, and I felt so cold.

I finally burst out and grabbed onto the dirt road. I was coughing uncontrollably, and it took all my will to drag myself onto the road. I started to throw up water, and I felt the horrible feeling of water sloshing in my lungs as I coughed it all up. I didn't think I'd ever quit coughing.

When I did stop, I only realized how cold I was again. I couldn't remember ever feeling so cold or alone. My head was hurting, and I realized that my face was bleeding (I don't know how since I didn't get hit in the face by anything).

I don't know how long it was before I saw a pair of headlights. Another trucker was coming down the road, and he slowed to a stop in front of me. A man came out, and he ran over to me. "Miss! Miss, are you okay?" His hands fell on my shoulders, and I realized how cold and wet I must have felt to him.

"Uhh…" was all I could say at first.

"What happened?"

"Accident… truck…" I pointed over to where I'd slipped off the road (seeing my own finger trembling). There were some tire marks in the mud where I reared off into the water.

"Are you hurt?" He started looking on my face, I guess trying to find why I was bleeding, but he didn't find any cuts. "Did you hit your head or anything? Is anything broken?"

I shook my head, but he still looked over me to see if anything was wrong. "Then nothing hurts? Did you hit anything or did your head throw a lot?"

"Hit my… back… not bad… though…"

He nodded and quickly got a blanket and wrapped it around me, and then carried me into his truck. I tried to say thank you, since this stranger was being so nice to me, but I really couldn't say much. My throat was sore from all that coughing, and I was shaking a lot. He told me that he would take me to the next town, so I could only nod to show my thanks.

The truck started, and I curled in the blanket and put my head on the door. I felt very tired, but I didn't feel like I could sleep. Nothing really hurt anymore; even the pain in my head was going away. But I still felt cold.

Then I had a weird feeling… like some sort of door in my head had just opened.

.-.-.

"Lunch-chan," Tou-san's voice said behind me. I looked around to see him. He was so much bigger than me, but his hair and eyes are the same color as mine. He smiled. He had a warm smile. "I'm home."

I smiled really big and ran up to him. "Tou-san! Tou-san!"

He picked me up and laughed. His suit always smelled differently than the house. "I'm sorry I had to be gone so long on the business trip. Did you miss me?"

"Hai!" I snuggled into him, and he laughed again.

"You certainly took your time coming back, Zen," I heard in English behind me. I looked back at Mama. Her hair was bright, always pretty and curled (I inherited the curliness), and her eyes were very green and big. "Our little girl was on the verge of thinking you'd never return." She gently took me into her arms from Tou-san. She always smelled like flowers. "And my business is getting harder and harder to keep at home. Why don't you stay at home and take care of her for a change?"

"All right, I'll do that next time," he said in Japanese. Tou-san usually spoke in Japanese, and Mama usually spoke in English. Sometimes they would speak in the other's language (which I didn't like; I thought it sounded weird), but that's how they normally were. They could understand each other, and I could understand both of them, so there wasn't a problem. I usually spoke to Tou-san in Japanese, and English for Mama.

I was so excited from Tou-san finally being home, I couldn't sleep that night. I crawled out of bed and walked carefully in the halls… careful since the house was so big and it was dark. I heard their voices before long, and I saw a line of light coming from one of the slightly open doors down a hall when I followed the talking.

I peeked in, and I saw them in the office-place that they did all their business stuff in. While they were talking, they were drinking something in those really pretty glasses they had (and never let me touch). They were so interested in talking to each other that they didn't see me come in

Then I saw a shadow at the window, and I ducked to hide beside the grandfather clock. I didn't know what to make of the shadow at first. But then it moved quickly in front of Tou-san. A second later, there was a man wearing a pink cheongsam there, calmly pulling out a bloodied knife from Tou-san's body.

Tou-san slumped to the ground, and Mama was about to move, but this man was too fast. He was instantly behind her, I think choking her with something. She tried to escape I think, since she was moving her arms around a lot, but she eventually slumped and fell, too.

I was frozen in place. I wanted to scream, I wanted to run away, I wanted to run up to my parents and ask them if they were okay… My body shook, and all I managed to do was open my mouth, only to let my chin shake even more.

Then I was aware that there was also a boy there along with the strange man. The boy wore a simple shirt and green pants, but I thought it was odd that he would be shaved bald when he was so young. Maybe he was a monk?

The boy was talking to the man for a little before he turned more towards me. _Three eyes! He has three eyes! _Right as I was wondering if the third one was real, it moved individually and locked on to me.

My heart stopped, and I think I stopped breathing. He turned fully to me and furrowed his brows, telling the man that he would "be right back". He stepped forward one step, and before I knew it, I was running. I ran down the dark hall, not really caring to be careful about where I was going or to not knock into things. I didn't look back, I was afraid to, but I knew that the boy was always right on my heels. I didn't really know where I was going; I just wanted to get away, to escape as quickly as possible. _Help me! Tou-san! Mama!_

Luckily, I saw a door under one of the cabinet tables slightly open (they're almost always closed, now that I think of it), and I managed to jump into it and shut it behind me.

When I sensed him approaching, I tried my best to keep completely still and I held my breath. I heard him slow to a walk, and step towards the table. I bit my lip, and my hands clenched when he stopped right beside the table. He didn't seem to move forever, and I was afraid that he'd found me.

"Tenshinhan!" a male voice yelled above, which I guess was the voice of the man. Then I heard footsteps leading away from the table and up the stairs (I didn't realize until then that I had ran down a flight of stairs while trying to escape), and then, silence. I breathed and fell back against the wood of the inner-table. I knew that he'd left the room, but I wasn't sure that they had both yet (they did, after all, move quickly and silently earlier). I was too afraid to come out, and I ended up falling asleep.

.-.-.

I woke up in this place from the sound of a lot of people moving around the next morning. I knew it was morning because some light was coming in from the small crack between the doors of the table. At first, I was confused that I woke up here and not my bed, and everything that occurred the night before didn't really seem to make sense. I thought last night was a dream.

But I was still afraid to leave.

Staying the night in the cubbyhole made me pretty sore, too. I sat up and fidgeted about, not really liking the pain from sleeping in an awkward position in a small, hard place. I think I must have made a lot of noise moving around, because someone outside said that they "heard something", and in a few seconds, the doors were opened, and I saw a police officer.

I flattened myself against the back of the space, since I was still scared from seeing a stranger, but he only looked at me. He seemed shocked and, I think, a little sad. "Chief, I found the daughter."

Everything after that was pretty hazy. They all started asking me a lot of questions, some of which I didn't really understand. They asked about what happened, what I saw, what I heard… I don't remember what I said. All I really remember from this time was that I started crying when I realized it wasn't a dream.

"Tou-san! Mama!" I cried. "I want my Tou-san! I want my Mama!"

The first police officer put his hands on my shoulders. "I'm sorry, but we can't—"

"Tou-san! Mama!" I knew it was in vain, but I desperately wanted them to appear, to make all the bad go away…

.-.-.

The orphanage was cold. I'm not sure why I got that impression, because they always had thick covers and heating in the winter, but I felt like I was always cold.

Almost as soon as I came into the orphanage, I came down with something. I'm not sure what it was, but I always felt bad, so I couldn't play much, and the agency didn't like putting sick kids out for adoption until they're sure that they're healthy and likely to be adopted. Besides that, it made me sneeze a lot.

The other kids made fun of me. They teased me and bullied me, and being sick as well, I always felt miserable.

"Going to blow the world today with your nose, Kushami?" One of them teased.

I sniffled and wiped my face with a hankercheif. "That's not my name. My name's Lunch."

"Yeah right! You're 'Kushami', cause all you do is sneeze!"

I felt like crying. Whenever I sneeze anymore, the other children snickered and giggled, as if it was a running joke. I really hated it.

The boy pushed me. I tried to back away, but then he started poking me really hard with a toy he had.

"Stop it!" I pleaded.

"What're you going to do about it? You're just a sick girl!" He kept poking me. "Kushami! Kushami!"

_Stupid brat!_

_Huh?_

Everything went black.

.-.-.

When I came to, I saw that I was still standing where I was before (or at least, I was pretty close), and the boy that was teasing me was on the ground, holding his face and sobbing. He was looking at me in fear. I felt so confused, and it didn't help that he quickly got up and ran away.

From then on, whenever I was teased, especially when people bullied me after a sneezing fit, I would black out, and when I came to, whoever was teasing me was either crying or running away, or both. The teasing dwindled a bit, but the caretakers started yelling at me for being too rough with the others.

I didn't understand anything that was happening, and the caretakers yelling didn't help. I was already in a sobbing fit when one grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the playroom with a really painful grip.

"Just because they tease you a bit is no reason to hit them with chairs!" Nazo-san growled at me. "And don't give me that innocent act, Kushami! It's not going to work!"

I cried. "I don't know. What's going on? Why does everyone keep calling me Kushami? My name's Lunch…"

Nazo-san got more annoyed. "Just an hour ago, you insisted that you're name was _Kushami_, and that no one _ever_ calls you Lunch."

"No I didn't! I don't remember that at all!"

He grabbed me by my hair, and I screamed. One of the other caretakers stopped him and pulled him aside. "Take it easy, Nazo; she didn't lose her parents two years ago. They were murdered right in front of her, remember?"

"But that's no excuse—"

"It's plenty excuse. Look, don't you think it's a bit odd that she changes between completely passive to incredibly aggressive like that? Her mode of talking and even her _voice_ changes when she does that."

"Yeah, I know. So?"

"So… don't you think we should get her some help? Some psychiatric help?"

After that, I started seeing a strange man with glasses that always smelled of cigars. His name was Pinero-san (I'm sure the other's said that he was a doctor, but he didn't tell me to call him "Dr. Pinero"). He was nice, but he asked a lot of questions, too, but these questions I was able to understand. He asked me a lot about my experiences, how the others treated me, about my parents (but he didn't ask about when they were killed), and about how things have been going for me. He visited me weekly, though sometimes I blacked out before the visits, so I don't remember them.

Sometimes Pinero-san would give me little pills that I would have to take, and he told me to be careful with them. He stopped giving them to me eventually and said that they "weren't necessary". He also encouraged the caretakers to school me in English as well as Japanese when he found out that I was bilingual. He liked to have conversations with me in both languages (he was bilingual, too), and even though I didn't like speaking two languages to the same person before, I got used to it wit him. We would sometimes switch between the two in the middle of the conversation.

I got over being sick, but some of the kids would still tease me. Many of the boys, in particular, seemed to hate me because they said that I hit them and kept trying to fight me. I couldn't fight, so I got hurt a lot. But it turns out that I won a lot of the fights when I blacked out, too. The black outs now seemed to come only from sneezing, so I guess I got a little bit of a warning.

One day, I came to from a sneeze to find the playroom really quiet. Everyone was staring at me and backed away as far as possible.

I started to get scared. "…What happened?"

"How did she do that?" Someone whispered.

"She's a monster."

"I bet she's an alien in disguise."

"Or a demon. I heard that demons transform and can look like people."

I was confused. "Monster? Alien? Demon? What are you guys talking about?"

Then someone grabbed me. It was Nazo-san. "Come on, Lunch." He pulled me away.

"Huh? What's happening, Nazo-san?"

That's when I started transforming.

People treated me a lot differently, then. The other children were now really afraid of me, and even the boys who liked to fight me because I hit them kept away. And it seemed impossible for me to get adopted now. Before, whenever any families got me, they'd return me saying that I was "sweet and kind one minute" and "violent and unruly the next". Now, they were completely freaked out by me. Many didn't even _try_ to adopt me. And the caretakers tried to avoid me.

Pinero-san still treated me the same way, but some of his friends that he began to introduce me to were a little different. They weren't as interested in talking, and really were more like doctors. They kept taking tests on me (I didn't like the blood tests at all) and would have me lie down on places that wheeled me into weird chambers.

A lot of them would talk together before me, talking about what to do.

"—A tumor right between the olfactory bulb and the frontal lobe. It's nonmalignant, but—"

"—This is obviously where the changes occur, since there's activity in this area when she transforms—"

"—The sternutation must stimulate the area and trigger the change, don't you think—"

"—Look at where the tumor is located! We can't possibly operate—"

"—Unless we induced light ischemia or hypoxia to that part of the brain. It's a little risky but the chances of failure are—"

"—Do you know what you're proposing! If we failed, she could be—"

They all stopped simultaneously by the rise of their oldest member, the one that I knew was closest to Pinero-san.

"We will not take any action on this. The tumor is nonmalignant, inoperable… there's no reason to operate."

"—But sir…!"

"This girl's life is not in danger. Certainly, she will never be normal, but how much more unhappiness could this possibly bring to her than if we attempt to operate on her and fail? No, we must not think of this as a curse… perhaps it is more of a blessing."

The others immediately burst into protest. "Blessing! What kind of 'blessing' could this be! Where would 'blessings' have a hold in medicine!"

"I'm not sure, but…" The old man fidgeted a bit. "…If we were to extinguish such a rare case… something never recorded before and almost appears to be _magic_…" He paused a bit and watched the others, who quieted down. "…What would Science think of us? Destroying something so precious and unique?"

That was the last time that I saw them, and I started seeing Pinero-san a lot less, too.

Even though I didn't like being ignored, I think I still preferred it to being teased and having to face the fact that I didn't have parents anymore. Maybe a part of me liked blacking out and having someone else take care of me. No, I think I did. I knew that I was weird, but I accepted it when I realized what was going on. And, even if others ignored me, I never felt _completely_ alone…

It was after my twelfth birthday when I ran away from the orphanage, or rather, my other self ran away. I didn't like being on the run at first, but when I started seeing a lot of things and meeting new people, I didn't care any more. I tried working, but I was usually too young to do much more than cores for others. My other self didn't seem too personable, either, because others would dislike her working for them.

My other self started stealing things to keep me from starving a year later, and though I didn't like that I was doing that, I couldn't help it. I knew that I couldn't get money otherwise, so I would buy my food and cook my own meals with the money… I got used to it.

So many more memories… running from the police, friends that I've had over the years… the weird woman Hasuki that my other self worked with for a while… attempts at jobs that mostly failed…

Everything was coming back… the flood of memories hurt my head…

.-.-.

I became aware that I was in a truck again when I shivered under my blanket. I sneezed…

…And I looked up. The rising sun was still in the same position as it was before, shining its rays coldly through the windshield.

"Gesundheit," the man said. I looked over to him, and he was smiling. He didn't look surprised at all! "At least, that's what everyone says when people sneeze where I come from… Never found out what it meant, though…"

I shook even more, and I found that he had turned on the radio earlier… A song called "Hello" from an English speaking band called Evanescence played. The song struck a little too close to home, and the sunlight and the cold… I sunk into my blanket, trying to escape the cold light and the reality that everything seemed to try to rub into my face.

**hy·pox·i·a**  
_n._

Deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching body tissues.

The phase from the dictionary broke into my head. The song mocked me… mocked my situation… mocked my past… mocked my memories… mocked my wish for reality to be fantasy. I curled up more in the blanket, trying to escape from the cold with my own heat, but the cold, loneliness inside was impossible to ignore.

I couldn't even escape into myself. I was alone.

* * *

Tou-san – Father/daddy.  
If you didn't know, or forgot, "Kushami" means "sneeze".  
Hmm… I bet you guys weren't expecting that little bit, eh? It's actually pretty creepy how well "Hello" matches this situation, especially since I was planning this plot way before I even heard the song, so I had to include it. Oh yes, I was _planning_ this for a while. (And I highly recommend hearing that song while reading this, or re-reading it, as the case may be.)  
Damn, and Lunch is _still_ hard to write. 


	28. Oxygen

Disclaimer: Teh chapter one. "Teh" will never be banned! Haha!

College is weird, and so is having a double major. But my 21st birthday rocked **  
**

* * *

**.-T-.**

I felt very strange approaching Lunch's house… if you indeed want to describe it as a _house_. The place was large, even for a mansion. It was like one of those Western manors that you would see in some bare planes, the kind that would have two-hundred-plus rooms in it and it wasn't unusual for guests to get lost in the halls. Even though Bulma's house was actually bigger, it was completely different to this gabled structure with columns and straight lines instead of sleek domes and curved windows. I wondered if Bulma knew what kind of place Lunch lived in, and if she did, why she didn't bother to tell me.

My shoulders slumped with a sigh. I really could have used some sort of warning. I looked over at Chouzu, and he actually only eyeing it with confusion rather than the shock I expected. Knowing Chouzu's thoughts for as long as I have, I figured that what he was thinking at the moment would be "Why are we at this noble's place? Weren't we going to go see Lunch-san?"

It didn't take me long to figure out that she wasn't home (although, by that time, Chouzu worked through that it was _her_ home and was starting to freak out a bit), and I considered leaving and maybe coming back later when she was there. But just as I turned and was about to announce to Chouzu that we were leaving, I noticed Chouzu's energy spike a little bit as a small flash of bluish light came from his direction. I turned around to see the large door swing open.

He hovered inside. "Come on, Ten-san!"

I wanted to yell at him, but I quickly shot that notion down and followed him in. Of course, the inside had to be more lavish than the outside, something that didn't match either of the girls at all. They both tended to live day-to-day a little simpler than most women preferred, Lunch because she was a simple girl at heart, and Kushami because her city slicker, tomboyish attitude called more for guns on the walls than pictures.

The whole house seemed to bug me. I had an eerie feeling that I'd been there before, yet it still seemed completely unfamiliar. Standing in the main hall, anywhere near those huge, swooping staircases made me uneasy, and I couldn't feel like I could stay in that room until she appeared.

I decided to go ahead and look through the house for Lunch, just to make sure that she wasn't here even though I wasn't sensing her presence. I took my time looking in each room, cautiously making note of the intersections of the halls so that I would still know generally how to get back to the starting point. Many of the rooms weren't being used, closed off from the rest with plastic covering the furniture. I found the room that I supposed she was using for her bedroom, which was really a master's chamber with a large, wooden bed complete with curtains instead of a futon. The bathrooms were all huge, but the one that had any products in it was the biggest one, one with a bath large enough for two families to use at once.

It didn't click how the place seemed familiar to me until I found the office with the partner desk. The daylight had almost completely crept away, leaving the darkened rooms having to be illuminated by light fixtures for me to see. When I saw the dark room with the slight glow of the desk lamp, memories crawled back up from the days of my training under TsuruSenin-sama and TaoPaiPai-sama. Times when I was pushed to the limit, often past the limit, times that I had techniques explained in detail to me, times that I was taken from fight to fight to show off all this hard work… and there was, of course, the times that TaoPaiPai-sama took me with him to observe his assassination jobs.

I remembered, in a mentally fuzzy picture, of the assassination of Itadaki Zen and his wife. My memory of it now was just as scraggy as it was two years ago, when I explained it to Kushami, since I kept myself from dwelling on the event. I left the room in an awkward air, having not touched a single plastic-cased piece of furniture.

I made my way down the swooping stairs slowly, and my shoe had barely touched the floor when I heard Lunch's voice.

"Hi, this is Itadaki Lunch—"

I jumped towards the direction of the voice.

"—I'm not home right now, so if you'll kindly leave a message, I'll try my best to get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you." A beep followed, and I exhaled. _Only an answering machine._

A man's voice came on, giving a small cough to clear his throat before speaking. "Yes, Itadaki-san, this is Sutairo Bokusu from Valecard Corporation. It's almost seven hours after the promised hour you'd scheduled with me. I tried calling your workplace, but your secretary claims that you weren't there. I'll have you know that I will _not_ stand for such incompetence when it comes to my supplies. You've already put us way behind our schedule."

I frowned, checking the desire to snatch up the phone and yell at the man. But I knew that his anger might have been justified; after all, this is Lunch and Kushami in question here. Its very likely that if they're involved, a transformation could cause no end of trouble that could make anything in her schedule late.

"Please get back to me as soon as possible to discuss this matter, Itadaki-san." The man hung up.

I shook my head and walked away from the staircase, still wondering where Lunch was. I caught a table in the corner of my eye and turned over to it, staring for a bit. I wasn't quite sure why, but I knelt down and opened the wooden doors to looked inside. Nothing there, as if I should have expected there to be. I reprimanded myself lightly for it. _It's not like I'd find Lunch hiding in here. She wouldn't even fit in that little space._

.-.

We waited. It was well into the early morning hours and Lunch still hadn't returned. I was still training in that front room, meditating mostly, but as time went on, I realized that I was getting both tired and hungry from finally being in a living body again. Chouzu had been napping on and off. I stopped meditating again and glanced over at him; he was sleeping on a couch.

I thought over waiting until he woke up and asking him to make something to eat, then considered either making something myself or going out to pick something up. I was equally as tired, and could have easily found a comfortable room in this huge place to lie down, but I didn't want to go to sleep. I wanted to be there and awake when Lunch returned. Besides, if she returned as _Kushami_, it'd be in my best interests to talk to her before taking any liberties in her house.

The answering machine rang out in the hall again. I kept myself from twitching from the sudden sound, but Chouzu squirmed in his sleep.

"Itadaki-san, this is Sutairo Bokusu again…" I narrowed my eyes at the voice. "I apologize for my earlier rudeness. I just got the message from your late night secretary from my machine. I had no idea that I wasn't able to reach you because _you_ _personally_ were filling out the order, and that it was late because of your accident along the way."

Any part of me that was dulled from lack of sleep or food shot up in attention. _Accident?_

"I am grateful to hear that you maintained minimal injuries and did not require hospitalization. I recall any trying words that I said in my last message, and you needn't worry about losing the shipment in the accident; I made sure the goods were insured, after all.

"Well, I wish you health, Itadaki-san." He hung up.

I bit a lip and stood hastily, just to mentally reprimand myself since I had no idea where she was and I could do nothing but wait for her to return. _He did, after all, mention that she wasn't badly injured and wasn't hospitalized. _But the fact that she had been in an accident at all still got me pacing up to the walls.

My anxiety didn't let up until daylight broke, and I heard a vehicle outside. I ran to the window to peer out.

Sitting with the motor running in front of the house was a shipping truck with a decal that proclaimed it's ownership being in Lunch's own shipping company. A door opened, and a girl stepped out. It took a second for me to realize that the dirty, bruised, and shaking girl was Lunch, her skin pale and covered with splotches of mud, and her hair hanging limply out of its usual bouncy curls, looking more like a dingy black color than her bold purple.

She waved to whoever was driving, and the vehicle went off as soon as the door closed. Her steps towards the door were uneven and slow, even quivering. I pulled myself from the window and went out of the room, quickly going into the antechamber and pulling open the door.

Lunch seemed to have just reached the door when I opened it, her hand extended with a key positioned in her fingers. She looked up at me in surprise, her mouth open without words for a minute. Then she smiled, closing her tired eyes to express as much warmness as she could muster in her state. "Hi, Tenshinhan."

I didn't like her behavior. She didn't act at all as I expected her to, and it seemed that her smile was forced in order to keep me from worrying. But I tried to write it off as being shaken up from the accident. "I heard you had some trouble."

She swallowed and nodded. I could tell that she was restraining herself from speaking; I knew that she wanted to say a hundred things, ask a hundred questions, but she didn't have confidence that she could be able to speak solidly.

But she couldn't just stand here in front of her house. "You should rest. Do you need me to do anything for you?"

"No," she finally choked out. Still smiling, she politely made her way around me and through the antechamber and large front hall, going towards the stairs. "I just need a bath."

"Are you sure?" I brushed her arm lightly. Her skin was clammy, and she jerked under my touch.

I withdrew from her and tried not to show my disappointment. She had every right to feel uneasy around me, and it was best for me to leave her alone. I let her go past me and begin up the stairs, but her steps were still uneven and trembling. She'd only reached the fifth step before she lost her footing. I reached out to support her back, and she looked back at me, her gaze dull for a few seconds, not comprehending through her fatigue. Then her tired smile returned, and she continued up the stairs. I followed, to ensure that she wouldn't fall if her legs buckled again.

**.-L-.**

When I closed the door behind me, I knew that Tenshinhan was still outside, waiting. But I was so overwhelmed by everything that had happened, the shock of him returning still hadn't settled. Or perhaps it had, but I just felt so tired and sick that I was just too numb to it. I didn't know. I just felt like I really needed to take a bath. I was so cold, and I knew that I was filthy.

I washed my skin and hair, my arms feeling like noodles as I did. I dropped the soap and washing cloth several times. When I stood from the stool, thinking my knees would give out on me, and I slowly went over to the bathtub. I was afraid that I would slip and fall on the tiled floor.

I stepped into the water and sunk down, sighing. I had run the faucet hotter than I usually had it, and it was almost scalding; I could see my skin already turning red. But I welcomed it, as long as it soaked away the cold that seemed to have frozen me to my bones. Steam wafted up and warmed my face and blocked out my vision of the bathroom with white.

I thought back unwillingly to what has happened. The trucker that'd picked me up really thought I should've stayed in the hospital for observation. I was still bleeding when he found me, and he was concerned since I was injured worse than I thought. He was very considerate, and he wanted to stay and make sure that I was alright, even though I was a complete stranger.

But I assured him that I'd be fine, and I didn't want to be at the hospital any longer than I had to. When he finally left, I immediately called someone from the warehouse to pick me up and bring me home. I didn't want to stay. I didn't want to be observed or tested. I didn't want them to tell me... to tell me...

The heat had soaked completely into my body, and the steam continued to beat at my face. But no matter how hot the water was, part of me just couldn't warm up. But the steam on my face and in my eyes did seem to thaw something, and I felt streams of wetness run down my cheeks that had nothing to do with the bathwater.

And that coldness made me tremble again, and my shoulders shook, and I bit into my lip. I tried to keep myself from trembling, but it didn't work. I heard myself weeping, and I couldn't stop it; I only cried louder.

"Lunch!" I heard a voice outside call. "Are you all right? Is--is something wrong?"

It took me a few moments to recognize the voice as Tenshinhan, and it took even longer to remember that he wasn't dead anymore. I wasn't entirely sure how, but all I could figure was that it had something to do with the Dragonballs.

"Lunch?" He started to knock on the door. His voice was raising in alarm. "Lunch?"

"I..." was all I could manage. My chest was heaving, and I was choking on the steam and my own sobs.

I could vaguely hear the door opening, and I felt a strong arm encircling my shoulders. I hid my face with my hands, not wanting to show Tenshinhan my sadness when we've just seen each other again. It was kind of pointless now, I know, but I still didn't want him to see me crying.

"Lunch. Lunch, it's okay. I heard that you had an accident, but you look fine. And I know this is probably the worst possible time for me to reappear beside you, but trust me, I just want to help. It's all right."

I shook my head furiously, still not able to say a thing.

He didn't speak for a moment. "What do you mean? Is something wrong? Lunch, perhaps you should go to the doctor..."

I shook my head again.

"No? Then what's wrong?...Should I leave you alone?"

I finally choked something out. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'll go..." I felt his arm begin to withdraw. I grabbed him before he could. I didn't want to be alone.

I kept shaking my head. "I'm so sorry..."

"I--I don't understand."

"I know that you always preferred Kushami over me..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"She took care of me for so long. She protected me because I needed help. I was so alone, and she came to help me."

"Lunch, please calm down. You're not making any sense."

"And she protected me again... the first time that I alone in years... Alone..."

"You're _not _alone. I'm here. Chouzu's here, too. He's asleep downstairs."

"No! Kushami... Hiru... I-I don't know... myself, my sister..."

"Calm down, _please_."

"She's dead, Tenshinhan! She died protecting me!"

"_Who _died?"

"Kushami!"

This time he was silent for much longer. I pried my stinging eyes open and dared to look at him. He was surprised and confused. And I saw dread.

"Lunch," his voice was thick and quiet now, "What do you mean? How can Kushami be dead if you're sitting alive and healthy right in front of me? And why are you referring to her as someone separate? You always referred to her as yourself before."

"She isn't me, not really. Kushami is... she's not Kushami. She's my sister Hiru. My dead sister, and she died again..."

"What? You're not making sense, Lunch, I--"

"It's true!" I surprised myself with my own voice; I was shrieking, "She said it was the last time she could protect me, then she was gone. I sneezed afterwards! I sneezed, and I didn't transform! She's dead, Tenshinhan! _Dead!_"

He looked like he'd just been stabbed. All three of his eyes were wide, and his jaw was set. He swallowed. "Maybe you should check into the hospital."

"No!" I screamed, and I scrambled out of his arm, flattening myself against the other end of the small tub. The water slushed out over the side with my moving. "I can't! They'll tell me! They'll tell me that she died! That she suffocated so that I won't drown!" I shut my eyes again, and I started to wail, no longer able to speak. I felt the water of the bath come over my head; I wasn't sure if I was trying to escape into the water, or if I just couldn't hold my head over the surface any longer...

Either way, it didn't matter. Those strong arms came back and pulled me out of the water. I felt a soft towel on me, drying my skin. I heard Tenshinhan's low voice speaking softly, so softly that I couldn't hear him over the pounding in my ears.

But I'm sure he said, somewhere, that he was there to protect me.

* * *

I finished this chapter on my mom's laptop, rather than sleeping so that I'd be wide awake the day after Thanksgiving to sign the title to my car in the morning. Also: My mother has only WordPad on this thing, and I didn't feel like downloading a better WP. Ah, well. 


	29. Confirm

Disclaimer: Chapter one!

I did not forget! I did not! I promise! I've just been stupid busy! And, to be honest, I'm a little frozen about writing it, because I'm almost to the finish of the story, and it's been a _long_ one. I did the same thing with my other really long fic that I ended (BAW); I froze for a good long time before I finally sat down and finished the thing. To make matters worse, I'm still a little undecided about which of my two endings I want to use (or if I would rather try to write both).  
Toni the Mink: I plan on making as many as I need, but don't expect there to be too many more. And I guess that would be a likely place for a lemon. Hah, I'm not going to touch it, though; you or anyone else is welcome to it.  
Soon: All your criticisms I either mostly or wholly agree with. I've at least gotten better over the writing, and I find it funny that we apparently had similar ideas and theories.  
Both of you I would have loved to have around giving me reviews while I was writing this earlier. I think it would have helped immensely. I'm far too lazy (and considerate; I'm not Lucas, damnit!) to go back and fix all those chapters after its been out for so long, but if I actually do convince myself to do a doujin on this fic (and have a chance to fix up my discrepancies), I would be sure to mention you guys along with every one of my reviewers and fav-ers.

* * *

**.-T-.**

I always hated hospitals. Being that I've been a fighter my whole life, I usually only went when either Chouzu or I were injured grievously in battle, and thus I associated it with pain. It doesn't make much sense, but something in the back of my mind had a gnawing anxiety to get out of there as soon as possible. And if I stay too long, no matter if I was injured or if I was fine and just visiting someone, my shoulders and neck ache and I start getting a headache. I had often rationalized this by saying it's the bright hospital lights and the white walls bothering my eyes.

It took a while to finally convince Lunch to talk to a doctor about what happened, and when she agreed, I managed to dig up Dr. Pisaiki's number. When we came to meet him, he brought an associate; a man named Pinero. Lunch seemed to know him and hugged him as soon as she saw him, and the two of them exchanged words shortly. It turned out that Pinero was her original psychiatrist when she was much younger.

At this moment, she was getting MRIs and CAT scans to compare with previous scans when she was younger, to see what had become of the tumor. Both of the psychiatrists and a couple of neurologists were assisting her, and I was allowed to stay with her, but, for some reason, I felt very anxious as I watched her lay back on a table for the scan and had to leave the room. The doctors seemed to understand and said that they would retrieve me from the waiting room after they were done.

I thought over all of this, trying to ignore the pain creeping in from back of my head. I sighed and rubbed my temple, glad that I told Chouzu to stay at the house. He'd only sit and sulk, acting worried, and I was doing enough of that alone.

"Tenshinhan-san?" I heard a voice call. I looked up to see Dr. Pisaiki. "We've finished the tests and we're now going over the images and comparing them. You can come back in if you want to hear the results."

I nodded and followed him into the area. Lunch was now sitting in a cushioned chair by the wall, her hands folded in her lap, but not looking uncomfortable or out of place. For a moment, I felt my face heat up with embarrassment; here I was, strung tight with anxiety, and she was taking the tests without complaint or problem.

I tried to hide my slight shame by smiling at her. "How do you feel, Lunch?"

She must have been thinking rather deeply, because she looked at me with some surprise, as if roused out of deep thought. "Oh, I feel… fine. I feel fine. Thank you, Tenshinhan-san."

I nearly winced at her address to me. She had gotten out of calling me "-san" a while before I'd died, and didn't use the suffix earlier. But it wasn't my place to question it.

"I must go to look over the results with Dr. Pinero and the specialists for the scans and confer on the various data." Pisaiki said with a folder opened before him. "But before I do, Itadaki-san, would you mind, er, confirming with me that story that you gave Dr. Pinero a little earlier was… real?"

Lunch closed her eyes and nodded. "Yes."

"Are you certain? I mean, I agree that your case is unorthodox, but to say—"

"She said 'yes'," I answered for Lunch curtly. She opened her eyes wide and stared at me. Pisaiki excused himself, but Lunch allowed a small smile.

**.-L-.**

Despite all that had happened, I was finally calming down. And I was so happy to see Pinero-san, and to _remember_ him. He was the only one that understood me when I was a kid. I hugged him tightlu and we immediately started talking together, mixing Japanese and English like we always did before. I told him everything that had happened to me since I last saw him, and included that I could remember everything that I'd forgotten, since I figured he'd want to know that. He smiled sadly and calmly wrote down every word.

I cried more than once when I told him the more painful things.

I was used to doctors and hospitals and scans, even though they weren't very comfortable, even though Kushami had hated them all with a passion (I wonder how she thought of Pinero-san?). But I didn't mind them, and I was used to them. After all that, Tenshinhan was escorted in while I was thinking about Pinero-san and the orphanage, and he had to talk before I realized he was there. He asked me if I was okay, but I really felt that I should have been asking _him_ that; he looked like he was about to get sick.

When Dr. Pisaiki left, I looked up at Tenshinhan as he stood by me, looking off to the side awkwardly. "Tenshinhan-san? Could I ask you a question?"

He looked back over at me. "Hmm? Sure, Lunch. What is it?"

"Were you the boy that was with the man that killed my parents? And chased me down the stairs?"

He got pale and all three of his eyes got wide. "Lunch…" He stopped a second. "Yes, I was."

I nodded. "I thought so."

"Kushami didn't—"

"Could I ask another question?"

"…Sure."

"You didn't seem very happy back then. You just seemed… annoyed, I guess." I tilted my head at him. "Are you better, now?"

He stared at me a while, not saying anything, just kind of breathing… he looked kind of anxious. And then he calmed down suddenly. "Yeah, I'm better now. I'm a lot better now."

I smiled at him. "I'm glad."

**.-?-.**

_Stupid girl. Stupid parents._

_I remember them all now. I remember the stupid promise._

_Stupid promise._

_Where am I, anyway?_

_It's like I'm in total darkness, except I can't even see the dark!_

_This is so stupid! Where the Hell am I?_

_Wait… am I in Hell?_

_I have to be. I killed and stole and manipulated and did a bunch of things._

_I hurt a lot of people, so I have to be in Hell._

_I thought Hell would be pain and screams and horrible sights. I don't feel any pain, or hear any screams or see anything horrific. In fact, I don't feel, or see, or hear at all._

_Is this some sort of weird dream?_

_No, it can't be. I'm dead right? I'm dead again, right?_

"Name, please."

_Huh? My name?_

_My name… What did people always call me?_

_They called me something strange…_

_…A sneeze…_

_…Why did they call me that?_

_"Hmm… no one by that name in the books. Use your birth name. Nicknames aren't recorded in the book."_

_Birth name? Uhh… Itadaki Lunch works, I guess._

"Itadaki… No, she's still alive. Oh, wait… 'Itadaki'… there's one an asterisk beside this one…"

_Asterisk? Am I an asterisk, now?_

"Ah, yes, I remember this case, now." A deep hum of thought. "Yes, yes. Sent to protect. Your parents were very adamant about visiting you and giving you respects to watch over her. You did a good enough job of it, I suppose. Might have put her in danger a couple times, but you kept her alive. And your last act was for her. But you did a lot of evil as well." Another hum. "I will allow you passage to Heaven. You've done your purpose, and that's all you were sent to do. Besides, you've done much evil, but you've done enough good."

_Heaven? What's in Heaven? Froofy angels floating around on clouds playing lyre music? Why would I want that?_

"That's not what Heaven is like at all. It's huge, and beautiful, and the climate is always nice."

_I'm not sure if I want to go… I don't think I _do_ want to go…_

"Then what do you want?"

_I don't know…!_

"Hurry up, you're holding up the line! Normally I'd just stamp on your file and send you up!"

**.-L-.**

I'm glad that Pinero-san was the one of them that decided to come out and tell me the results. I liked Dr. Pisaiki well enough, but Pinero-san was so dear to me, and I hadn't seen him in so long.

"We've come to a conclusion, Lunch-chan. Or should I be calling you Itadaki-san, now?" He laughed when I frowned at this idea. "I'm sorry. As I was saying, we've decided, and it seems that you are right. The tumor between the olfactory bulb and the frontal lobe is all but completely gone; by means of hypoxia it looks. I don't quite understand how your drowning could have centralized the loss of oxygen in that particular part of the brain, but that's certainly what happened."

"It did that because Kushami… or Hiru… wanted it to do that. I told you that, Pinero-san."

"So you did," he nodded.

"She was so strong. She was always stronger than me." I was about to start shaking, but I felt Tenshinhan's hand fall on my shoulder and I didn't. "I don't think she cried much. She didn't care about what anybody thought."

He smiled. "Oh, Lunch. She was strong, and she didn't seem to care… but she did care. And she _did_ cry. I never told you, but in my sessions with her, she would sometimes start bawling… because she felt like no one loved her. She didn't think that anyone could love her."

I felt Tenshinhan tighten his grip on my shoulder a little bit, but I smiled. People_did_ love her. One of those people was standing beside me.

"Then," Pinero-san continued, "I suppose it's possible that, if anything else happens in our crazy world, that Kushami was able to centralize the hypoxia and sacrifice herself to keep you from drowning. I mean, there's a man with three eyes standing besides you, isn't there?"

"He also just came back from the dead," I added.

When Pinero-san looked at us strangely, Tenshinhan said, "Perhaps that's an explanation for another time."

"I see… Well, whatever the cause, the tumor was the only affected part. There is no permanent damage… unless you count in Kushami herself. I know, Lunch, that you haven't been separate from her since you were a child, and she had been a part of you, whether or not she was a different person, but there is no reason that _you_ cannot continue. You're in perfect health; any bleeding that had occurred was simply discharge from the tumor. The labyrinth in your inner ear hasn't been affected, so there should be nothing wrong with your balance. Nothing about your cognitive skills or any other cerebral functions should have been affected. At most, you might have some more nosebleeds later."

"So, I'm alive, but she is dead."

"That's a way to put it."

I nodded. "I was afraid earlier to hear someone confirm that for me, Pinero-san. I still feel a little cold without her. I still miss her. But, I'm taking it better than I thought I was."

"That's good."

The conversation continued a while. He went over some more of the detailed parts of the scans, telling us what they meant, showing us comparisons. I didn't really understand much of the technical stuff, and I had a feeling that Tenshinhan didn't, either, even though Pinero-san was only talking in Japanese at that point.

Before long, it felt like it was time to go, and it was obvious that Pinero-san had finished his explanation. I didn't really want to leave immediately; I wasn't sure if I'd ever see Pinero-san again. But I felt Tenshinhan's arm around me, still strong, still warm, and I felt that I had to leave.

I still stopped before the door. "But, Pinero-san… I have one last question…" I looked back at him, and I felt like I was being overly hopeful. I nearly didn't ask. "Is there any chance… that she might come back?"

Pinero-san was about to answer. I saw his lips already shaped to form out a "no". But then he looked at Tenshinhan a long moment, and then back at me for even longer. Then his eyes closed, and that was the longest. "The only thing that is impossible is impossibility, Lunch-chan. You taught me that a long time ago."

* * *

I'm sick. My brother just got married. I did most of this chapter on a whim. A little short.  
This is not the last chapter, but, yes, we are close to that final one. 


	30. Run Towards the Flood

Disclaimer: Chapter one.

Okay, I know it's been forever! But…why didn't anyone tell me that I was writing Lunch/Kushami like Nichole/Jessica in Heroes? I had to watch the show to find this out. And I'm not even entirely sure if I started that interpretation of Lunch before Heroes started, so I can't tell if I was first or not. Gah!

Even more, Tenshinhan sort of acts like her husband. Geez, nevermind.  
This chapter gets a little… _weird_, for your warning. The strangest thing, though, is that as I was finishing (finally) this one, I was reading Job: A Comedy of Justice (and I wrote the _?_ part of this fic a while ago!).

**

* * *

.-?-.**

"…And then I took off my mask and said, 'Watashi kirei?'" I snorted and slapped my knee. "Oh, he flipped so bad, he fell over himself just to get away from me!"

The real Kuchisake-Onna that sat with me at the table giggled ecstatically and covered her morbidly wide laughing mouth with her hands. I laughed with her. I knew she'd enjoy the story.

"Men are so funny! It's fun to torture them a little, isn't it? I always do my self… even if I don't slash their mouths, I enjoy scaring them a little. After a while, you really learn to take advantage of your paranormal ability to mess with the humans. I think you'll be doing the same, if you use _my_ reputation like that!"

I chuckled. The morbid inclusion of her actually splitting people's mouths didn't bother me. "Perhaps I will. It is fun, isn't it?"

She giggled some more and drank some tea from her cup, careful not to let any spill from the sides of her grotesque mouth. The Kuchisake-Onna was certainly much more skilled at such things than I; I still accidentally got drops of blood drip into my tea while I drank it.

It was determined that I was to be a spirit that must wander aimlessly until I've found my way, since I'm _supposed_ to go to Heaven, but I really didn't feel that I'm ready. I think there might be a rule that they can't force me to go to Heaven. So I guess I'm a ghost. Or a demon. A mononoke. Some sort of spirit, anyway.

A wet trail followed me wherever I went, and I was perpetually damp with a drip of blood always reappearing from my nostrils and ears no matter how often I wiped it away. But as time passed, it ceased to bother me; I no longer wiped away the blood or tried to dry off the water.

My skin was cold, clammy, and so pale that it looked blue. I felt like I was freezing at first, when I first got this form and was no longer a roaming wisp of soul, but I became used to the constant cold a lot more quickly than I did the water and the blood. Still, though, I preferred to get tea and fried rice—as warm as they make it here—when I can. I ate more rice than I drank tea, because I figured my body was wet enough.

But I liked this little blue teahouse that sat comfortably on the top of Hell's yellow clouds. The air of it, especially with the palm tree to the side, made it feel very familiar. The Kuchisake-Onna and I weren't the only strange things in this house; there were kappa and tengu (both kinds) and every other spirit that most people think are just folklore. And they were actually rather polite for the most part. Sure, most, if not all of them, enjoyed messing with the humans every once in a while, but what's life without some surprises, huh?

"One, two, three…" A very pale woman who looked like she might have been a noble during the feudal era counted over her money with a singular obsession. I had seen her in the teahouse before, counting the money as she did now. If she came up short, she would become angry and her voice would become as cold and seriously shattering as a curse. I don't know what it was about her that stood out to me; something about those three eyes that she had. But I didn't know the significance of them; I never talked to her.

She did sort of stand out of the crowd outside of that, I guess. When something happened in the teahouse that was slightly more alarming than the bunch of us having tea (like, say, one of the ghouls looses a limb), she freaks out a little. I guess it is a little scary, but I got used to it pretty quickly, and she certainly has been around here longer than I have.

I found myself calling to her. "Hey, sister! Got enough money today?"

At first, she ignored me and continued to count, but when she felt satisfied, she put it away in a purse and looked up at me. "Yes. Today I do. Everything's fine today. How are the cakes?" She motioned to the half-eaten confection on the plate before me.

"They're a little too sweet today. I think the baker is messing with a different kind of sugar. Why don't you join Kuchisake-chan and me?"

She smiled a slow, cold smile that was no less sincere from its frigid nature. "I think I will, thank you." She approached smoothly, shoulders a little hunched, and took a seat at our table. "People call me Turaiko-dono. I know the Kuchisake-Onna. So what's your name?"

I gave a half-grin and shrugged. "Enma said I was an asterisk when I came for judgment, but people have problems pronouncing 'asterisk', so I just go with whatever people call me."

"I call her 'Flood'," the Kuchisake-Onna said with her unnaturally wide smile. "Since she has a western flair to her, doesn't she?"

Turaiko nodded, her two lower eyes upturned with her amusement. "Flood-dono it is then."

**.-L-.**

"I still don't really understand the part about all these 'memories' of yours coming back so suddenly."

I looked back over at Tenshinhan as we got out of the car. After coming home, my head was still muddled and spinning, and I wanted to try to relax. "Pinero-san explained it. Remember, Tenshinhan-san?"

He looked slightly irritated. "Yeah, I remember him trying to explain it. That means I should understand it?"

I tried to pull up what Pinero-san said, "Well, basically, he said that there was pressure on the… temporal lobe, in areas where… long term memory interference since its… and there could be a link to aggressive behavior… and there was, uh, evidence of purosu… prosapigonasiya…?"

"I _thought_ that you blanked out at that part, too." Tenshinhan smiled at me. "Looks like I was right."

I blushed and smiled back at him. I felt tired, still, but he did make me feel a little better. I shyly leaned against him as we walked towards my house, trying to enjoy the nice, sunny day with him instead of thinking about things that I'd rather not think about. Tenshinhan put one of his large arms loosly around me, lightly resting a hand on my back, near my side. It was comforting… perhaps he was trying to reassure me? I felt grateful that at least he was there to help me cope, and smiled a little more. Neither of us had opened the door yet before Chouzu burst out of the large door, eyes red and leaking. He looked like he'd been crying out of worry since we left, poor thing.

He hiccupped. "I-is Kushami-san d-dead? S-she isn't, r-right?"

I felt my smile fall. Tenshinhan and I were coming to accept what had happened, but Chouzu… I didn't know how to explain that to him! I felt my heart break apart in my chest all over again, thinking that it wasn't at all fair.

I was lucky, since Tenshinhan seemed to be prepared for it. He approached him and laid a hand on his shoulder. His eyes looked so sad as he looked on his innocent friend. "I'm afraid Kushami is gone, Chouzu. The part of Lunch that… _housed_ her has died. Even if she wanted to, she can't come back."

"B-but—" Chouzu choked again. "—But its not fair! We should bring her back, Ten-san! If _we_ have any right to live again, so does _she!_"

Tenshinhan balked. "I…" He looked at me, and then back at Chouzu. "Chouzu, are you suggesting using the Dragonballs?"

"Why not? We brought back a lot of people with them. Why can't we do the same for her?"

"Kushami isn't exactly the same case, Chouzu. She was another part of Lunch. And her being in Lunch… it was hard on _both_ of them. Lunch lost her memories of her family, and Kushami was… she was slowly losing touch of reality, to be honest. I can't ask either of them to return to that state!"

"Then we ask Shenron to make a separate body for her, too!"

I widened my eyes. I sort of liked that idea, since that means I could finally meet her, this woman who lived for me sometimes, making things both easier and harder for me. But…

"Wouldn't that be two wishes, Chouzu? The Nameks' Dragonballs have already left with them, and ours is only able to grant one wish." He looked awkwardly down, then tried to cheer up, giving a wide, nervous smile that didn't really suit him. "Besides, I don't think I could handle _two_ of them."

"We won't know unless we try!" The little guy started rubbing his own face away of tears. "Besides, we can just have the body made, have Bulma-san store it, and make another wish next year!"

Tenshinhan sighed. He was having trouble with this idea. I was, too. It just seems like we'd be doing something wrong if we made a separate body for her. Like we were going against some law of nature that shouldn't be broken. But, then again, wasn't wishing for the dead to come back the same?

"I wish there were some way of figuring out what _Kushami_ would want…" he mumbled, "But it's not so easy to talk to the dead."

I blinked. Talking to the dead?

"Tenshinhan-san, I think I might know a way to find out."

**.-T-.**

I recalled hearing about Uranai Baba during my stay with the others in Kame House. She was apparently Kame Sennin's older sister, a fortuneteller, but I had never met her personally. Lunch hadn't met her either, as she was Kushami when they went to ask Uranai Baba a question, and Kushami had felt no inclination to go. But Lunch suggested Uranai Baba as the best way to find out what Kushami would want, and, at this point, I couldn't think of a better option. It was either go, or have Chouzu run off and try to gather the Dragonballs by himself, something that I couldn't conceive ending well… _especially_ if he ended up dragging Lunch into it.

We had to stop by Kame House to get directions. When Kame Sennin saw us, he seemed delighted for the company, even if it did interfere with his favorite exercise program. Really, I believe he was just happy to see Lunch, since it had been a while. He laughed in his characteristic way and invited us in with a wave of his walking staff. When he asked us why we had come, I decided to pull him away from Chouzu and Lunch, not wanting to upset them further as I explained to him the situation as best I could.

His lighted face turned dark, and he rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "This is a very unfortunate tragedy for you to come home to, Tenshinhan. My condolences."

"Chouzu got it into his head to bring Kushami back with the Dragonballs. I don't know if it's the best course of action, since we'd either have to put her back into Lunch to do that, or give her a body of her own. And I don't know what she would want. That's why we came here, Muten Roshi-sama, because I need to know how to get to Uranai Baba's place. We have to ask her what sort of life does she want for herself."

"Yes, that would be important, wouldn't it? No sense in going through all the trouble of gathering those balls just to have her decline the offer. But what do you want, Tenshinhan? I always found Kushami to be…" He smiled nervously and rubbed his head. "Well… Nevermind that."

I looked down to the floor, not sure how to answer such a question. "Kushami is…"

"As I recall it, Kushami was always very fond of you. You were the only one that she catered to, you know. You've heard this before, but even when she started to tolerate the rest of us, she would hardly do a helpful thing for us unless it helped her as well. But you… she was willing to fight _Piccolo Daimaou_ for you, and I think she would have rather sided with him before us if it weren't for you."

Eh? She was going to do something so extreme for my sake? I didn't know that. "Fight Piccolo? She wouldn't have lasted!"

"No, but her spirit made the others more confident in their own abilities, to actually have her fiery personality match something that they also felt. Before she'd been more a nuisance than anything, but she just met you and you completely changed her priorities. Tenshinhan, she would want to be near you, I think."

I shook my head. "You don't understand. Muten Roshi-sama, I believe TaoPaiPai-sama found her. I don't know exactly what he told her, but I have a feeling about some of it, that it was about what I've done while training under Tsuru Sennin-sama. And even though she said that my past doesn't matter… she did admit that she was afraid of me, no longer able to think of me the same way. She admitted being afraid in general. He destroyed her confidence—because of me!"

"When did she say all this? Before you died, certainly, but I heard that when the others came to pick you up for Kami-sama's training, she—"

"It was after we started training. She went so far as to try to climb Karin's tower to ask me about what TaoPaiPai-sama told her. Got about halfway and hurt herself in the process."

"What? And you honestly think that her self-confidence was destroyed when she was willing to go that far to talk to you?" I went silent and felt a painful throb thump against my ribcage. He pulled out a piece of paper, hunched over it, and continued, "Let me give you some proper directions to her place. She might have you fight her five monsters in exchange for the information, but I doubt it since she knows your strength. Good luck with whatever you find out, Tenshinhan."

**.-L-.**

I had a hard time believing that this little, old witch woman was Kame Sennin's older sister, if only because it was hard to believe that there could be someone older than Kame Sennin. But she did have a very similar personality, just as the others had described to me back when I still lived in Kame House, and I soon saw the resemblance. She was a little bit better with money than Kame Sennin was, though; I could tell by the way she decorated her place. I guess because she charged so much for her fortune telling when people didn't fight her monsters.

We explained the whole issue to Uranai Baba that we had, from the beginning. At first she seemed rather shocked—I guess the whole situation is pretty weird—but she continued listening and didn't comment until after we were finished talking and I asked, "So can you tell us what we should do?"

"Of course I can!" She proclaimed almost peevishly. "I can find out anything! I am the great Uranai Baba!" With a snort, she hopped off of her floating crystal ball and began to wave her hands over its surface like a big brother does when playing "I'm not touching you!" while she hummed, with her mouth open and forming vowels, something not-quite a melody. It gave a mysterious, flashing glow at points as she did this. It sort of reminded me of how Kame Sennin's sunglasses could glint, and I wondered if it was a shared trait.

After a good while of this, she muttered, "I see her now. It took a little while to find her, since she went neither to Heaven or Hell like most when they die. It appears that her soul must not have been able to rest when she disconnected from you. She is now a mononoke."

Chouzu made a small noise of despair. I staggered backwards and felt like I could faint. Tenshinhan brought a hand up to my shoulders and steadied me. I looked at him to thank him and saw that his own three eyes look worried and defeated. That kind of look doesn't suit him. It made me feel worse instead of reassured.

"Since she's a wandering spirit, I'll either have to pull her here directly—something I do sparingly since she's in no sort of contract with me, so it may cause her to be vengeful—or I'll have to wait until I can catch her somewhere I can go. I might be able to travel extensively farther than most mortals past the mist, but their plane of existence is much larger than ours and I'm _not_ about to get myself _lost_ among the dead."

"How long will it take?" Tenshinhan asked, his tone turned a little cold.

Uranai Baba made another sound and gazed more into the ball, waving her small, wrinkled hands. A few seconds passed (the ball only flashed once this time) and she looked back to us. "She is on Earth presently, but on the other side of the globe. She and two other mononoke are busy tormenting a superstitious rich woman. I see she just snatched an emerald necklace for herself." She hummed and waved some more. "They will be done soon, then recoil back through the mists. I will be able to speak with her tomorrow." She peered some more, and a wide grin split her face. "Yes, tomorrow. This works well for me. Why don't the two of you stay the night?"

I thought of trying to decline politely for the offer, since her house made me very nervous, but Tenshinhan stepped in and thanked her for her hospitality. A strange little ghost escorted us to a room down a hallway lit by floating blue flames not fueled by lamps or candles to a traditional washitsu. I thanked him for the three of us and slid the door open. Tenshinhan slid it closed behind us while I opened the closet and pulled out the futons. Chouzu quickly floated over to help me, and he struck up a happy conversation in attempt to get our minds off of it.

After a little while, I noticed that Tenshinhan had been silent. I looked questioningly to him, and he noticed me, looking back.

"I was just thinking," he said, "that she hasn't changed one bit. She'd just gone to the afterlife recently and she's already back to being a thief." He gave a small smile, his eyes a little warm with comfort and a little hard with nervousness. "Talk about _hit the ground running_."

* * *

Prosapigonasiya – The term Lunch was trying to pull up was "prosopagnosia".  
Washitsu – A traditional Japanese-styled room with the tanami mats, shoji windows, and fusuma doors.  
You can find that monster teahouse in Japanese episode 7 of DBZ, along with Turaiko-dono (I gave her the name, though).  
Yes, yes… This took forever to finally drudge up the chapter. Gomen. But I've been busy, and inspiration is not always that easy. For your guys' information, I've started updating once a week (every Friday) on my ff-net: One chapter on any of my fics or one new story every week. Next Friday _might_ be this story as well. Who knows!


	31. Regret to Guilt

Disclaimer: It's in chapter one. Chapter one! CHAPTER ONE! C-H-A-P-T-E-R O-N-E!

I just read through all of Elfen Lied. And Nyu/Lucy is… well…  
…Why don't you people _tell me_ these things?!  
And despite that no one reviewed for the last chapter (did this really used to be my most popular fic??), I made this to be my update for this week. So, please, enjoy the story while it's still going. I promise that the end really is going to be very soon!

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* * *

.-T-.**

I sat awake in the darkness for a long time.

Both Lunch and Chouzu fell asleep quickly after crawling into their futons and were now snoring lightly, Lunch resting on her side as her purple curls obscured her face, Chouzu simply sprawled out with some of his sheets kicked away so that he was only partially covered. I watched them for a little while, then brought my eyes to my lap and clutched my hands together. As crazy as it sounds, there was undeniable guilt that gnawed at me. I had a lot to think about, and the more I thought, the guiltier I felt.

I wanted to blame myself for not being there when Lunch crashed. But if it weren't for that accident, she would not have remembered her past, right? Isn't it fair that she should be healthy and normal, after so many years of running away because of her transformations? But Kushami was a separate entity, not merely an imaginary friend for Lunch to hide behind. I was afraid—and _hopeful_—that when we asked Uranai Baba to find Kushami's soul, that it would have not existed.

Further, I wanted to blame myself for Kushami being dead and her soul not being able to rest. Her death had the same complicated situation of what was fair to Lunch. But worse, did _I_ have anything to do with her inability to pass on? Perhaps that sounds a little cocky, but there had to be a reason. Or would she just as easily give up passing on to the next world in favor of continuing her heists?

But the anxiety went deeper than that, so much that I didn't want morning to come. If she didn't want to come back, the matter ended there and we would simply hope that she could eventually find peace. But if she _did_ want to come back, what then? Would Lunch have to go back to being abnormal? Or if she had a body of her own, what would (this is pure selfishness on my part) I do? Before, I had loved them both as two to a vessel. But if they were two separate women…? The guilt gnawed on me with sharp, grinding molars, because I still felt something for _both_.

In earnest, Kame Sennin surprised me when he asked me what I wanted, and he frightened me by suggesting Kushami might still want to be near me. I believe he knew what my feelings were, so I further believe that he said spoke such because of it. But, damnit, if she hated me, it would be infinitely easier! Maybe a little painful to me at first, if she decided to come back with her own body and stick by Lunch, but I'm sure I could get over that in time. But what sort of cad would I make myself out to be if both of my girls wanted to be with me?

_Do _not_ start calling them "my girls" again. Didn't you get out of that habit? Do you want this to be harder than it already is, Tenshinhan?_

Everything changes, doesn't it? Even the method of things changing is subject to that law. You can't come back to your home and expect everything to be just as you left it, you know. _During your death, things have moved on. Why don't you move on as well?_ Maybe that's why I feel so much regret, because I keep trying to hold on to things that I can't hold on to. Making promises I can't keep and striving for goals I can't reach.

Chouzu tossed some in his futon, making a whine like a small animal having a dream. This roused Lunch. Her eyes opened and she propped herself up on her elbows. "Hmm? Tenshinhan-san? Why are you awake?"

I smiled, hoping to reassure her, but I think my smile came out a little sad. "It's nothing, Lunch. Go back to sleep."

"Are you okay, Tenshinhan-san? Did you have a bad dream?"

"I'm fine, just a lot on my mind. Nothing to worry about."

Her soft eyes looked innocently doe-like when her eyebrows drooped in worry, and my guilt's teeth tripled in size and bit down hard. "If you're sure, Tenshinhan-san."

I swallowed. "I really am okay, Lunch. Please don't worry on my behalf and go back to sleep. I'll be sleeping soon. I promise."

Either she believed me, or was too polite to contradict me, but she did as I asked and rolled over. I watched as her breathing slowed and continued to sit in the darkness. I knew that I wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight. I felt if I tried to lie back, my chest would surely collapse inwards under its own weight. Maybe it was made a little worse with the further knowledge that I had just lied to Lunch and would break that promise.

I'm not meant to make promises in the first place. It merely brings on regret.

**.-L-.**

The strange little ghost came to wake us up in the morning, bringing a large breakfast for the three of us by means of some invisible servants. Strange, after spending a night here, it isn't so scary anymore. The little ghost looked cute to me, now. Chouzu and I thanked him for the hospitality, for us and on Tenshinhan's behalf.

Tenshinhan himself was still sleeping at this time, and he had dark circles under his eyes, so I decided to let him sleep a little longer. But it wasn't long after the little ghost left that Tenshinhan was roused by the smell of the food. He sat up and blinked his lower eyes. "Ah, they're treating us to breakfast. At least, I hope that's breakfast. What time is it?"

"It's still morning, so yes, it's breakfast. You should eat, Tenshinhan-san, unless you want to sleep some more. You stayed up late last night, didn't you?"

He rubbed his head and muttered an apology (I don't know why), then got up and put away the futon before joining us for food. He was quiet the whole time, and I hoped he was just tired. I remembered how his hand tightened on my shoulder when Pinero-san told me about how Kushami sometimes cried during sessions when she was (we were?) a child. So I offered to pour some tea for Tenshinhan, and as I poured, I said, "You still love Kushami, don't you?"

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he calmly took the cup, drank from it, and sat it back down onto the low table that was provided for the meal. But he did finally speak after that. "Is this… fair what we're doing?"

I cocked my head to the side since I was confused by the question. "Eh? I don't see why it _isn't_ fair. I thought it felt weird at first, but I want her to have a chance as anyone else. I mean, despite all the trouble, she _did_ protect me… and I'd like to try to pay that back." Then I remembered. "You didn't answer my question, Tenshinhan-san. I mean, I'm sure you love her."

He shook his head. "I can't love _two_ people, can I?"

My heart went "pitter-pat" from that, but I wasn't any less confused. "Eh? But this isn't any different than before, is it?"

"No, It's completely different. Before, you were one person, right?"

_Oh, I think I see now._ "Tenshinhan-san, why don't you ask Kushami that yourself after we wish her back? I'm not entirely sure what her feelings would be… but you _did_ say once that she wanted you and I to be together, and I _know_ she loved you. If you think you can only be with one of us, or even neither, all you have to do is tell us. We'll leave if you ask. And if you want to try being with both of us, then just ask her about it."

His eyes went wide and a thick blush covered his face. Was what I just said really that weird? I glanced over at Chouzu, who was looking at Tenshinhan questioningly, then—I think they were talking through telepathy—he turned twice as red as Tenshinhan went. I self-consciously frowned and recoiled sheepishly, biting my lip. I must have been blushing, too. I really did say something weird, didn't I?

The awkwardness didn't last very long, thankfully, for the little ghost reappeared shortly. "Come this way, please."

We followed as he asked and were brought before Uranai Baba again. She was talking to a large, well-dressed woman.

"Of course I can find what you're looking for. I knew that you were coming, I know what it is that you want me to find, and I definitely know where it is now! I am Uranai Baba, after all!" She made a laugh. "So long as you pay me the zeni I require, of course."

"Of course!" The woman quickly rooted through her purse and pulled out a thick stack of bills that she handed towards Uranai Baba. The witch snatched it up quickly and leafed through it before pocketing it. A wide grin split her face.

"I'll go retrieve your necklace now."

"'Retrieve'? I thought you were just going to tell me where it is?"

"Ah, but where it is, _you_ can't go. Just wait here with these other clients—" She gestured towards us. "—While I go get it from that spirit that was tormenting you. I'll be back shortly after working both problems." She plinked away from sight, if not existence. Kame Sennin's sister sure is a strange person!

But then I realized. "Necklace… Tenshinhan!" I looked at him.

He calmly looked back at me and took one of my hands in his large ones to reassure me.

**.-?-.**

I tapped the large emeralds that now rested over my chest with a smile plastered on my face. The Kuchisake-Onna and Turaiko laughed emphatically over their tea.

"That was so fun, Flood-dono!" Turaiko exclaimed. "You're so strong!"

"Yes, we'll have to do this again!" The Kuchisake-Onna agreed. "This is _much_ better than just scaring some mortals and cutting up their faces!"

"I don't see why you guys haven't been doing all this yourselves," I said, sticking my tongue out. "You can get anything you ever wanted from the material world now, can't you? What are the mortals going to do about it? Send for a houshi to burn some incense?" I laughed loudly, and they joined in. Then I said, "Hey, do you either of you want this necklace? I don't really need it."

"Oh no!" The Kuchisake-Onna proclaimed. "You were the one that actually took it! Besides, the emeralds so well match your eyes!"

Turaiko's spooky voice cut in. "That's right, Flood-dono. It would just look weird on either of us. But you…! It looks _meant_ for you!"

"I don't wear a lot of jewelry. I usually just pawned it off before." I said with reference to memories that seemed so far away they might as well not be there, complete as they were. I snickered. "But what the hell!" We laughed some more.

"Unfortunately, I'm going to need that necklace back, Kushami." A voice cut in.

I swiveled around in my chair and found myself looking straight at a little old crone seated on top of a floating crystal ball. I glared at her for a little while before remembering that I was supposed to know her. "What the hell do you want? Can't you see I'm busy talking with my friends here?"

The ancient witch cackled. "I came to talk to you, too. Your living friends want me to ask you a question."

Living friends? Living already seemed like forever ago, so it was a little difficult to realize that anyone I knew might still be alive. "Stupid old hag, coming and telling me to give back my new necklace, then talking about nonsense." I turned away from her back to my friends.

"They want you back with them," she continued, evident in her tone that she wasn't the least bit perturbed by how I was _trying_ to disregard her and make her go away. "But they want to know how you want to come back, or if you want to come back."

Back to life? That thought didn't really pass my mind since I came here. I turned back towards her.

"NO!" Turaiko and the Kuchisake-Onna both rose and grabbed at my arms possessively. "You are not going to take Flood back with you!" Turaiko hissed with all of her monstrosity in her voice. The Kuchisake-Onna gave a deep, frightening grimace that only someone with a slit mouth could make.

"Go home, human!"

She didn't go home. Instead, the crone just shook her head. Oh, I remember her name, now. Uranai Baba. She was… the sister of that crazy turtle hermit I lived with. His older sister. That makes her to be really old, too, doesn't it? "Kushami," she said again, and I remembered that this was what people called me when I was alive, "That silly three-eyed man has been tearing himself up with your passing. Are you sure you don't want to return?"

I shivered with my eyes wide. My friends dug their nails into my arms and hissed further. "Quit trying to trick her, mortal! She's a mononoke like us now! Nothing will change that! People don't just 'go back to life'!"

"Exactly! And even if people could, why would she? Mortality is overrated, right Flood?"

My resolve hardened and I nodded. "Yeah, that's right!" I pulled off the necklace and threw it at the woman. "You said you wanted that? Why don't you just take it and leave, huh?"

The hag caught it easily in her small, wrinkled hand and chuckled. "If that's what you want, Kushami. So you don't want Tenshinhan to wish you back with the dragonballs?"

That resolve must not have cemented, because it was shaken again. "Ten shin han?" I shook my head. I might have my memories, but they all seemed so far away from myself. They were there, just easy to forget.

My friends seemed torn between making a spectacle of themselves and tossing the witch out by her pink hair. Toraiko turned to me for some guidance, looking up to me despite that we met not long ago. "Flood-dono?"

I swallowed. Tenshinhan. Dragonballs. A finger itched, and that hand felt far too light for my liking. It was hard to get my ground again with it feeling too light, so I tucked it in a pocket and pretended in my mind like I could pull something out of it that would be heavy, despite that my pockets were empty save for some extra water. It made me feel adequately more confident, so I was able to answer without falter.

"If you really want to know what I want, then here it is!"

**.-L-.**

I wasn't surprised when Uranai Baba returned with the emerald necklace, but I felt stupidly disappointed when Kushami didn't appear with her. What did I expect? That she should come back with the witch? However, I do admit that I wanted to meet her, even if she is a mononoke. The large, green necklace was as beautiful as it was gaudy, and looked like something I saw on little girls' costumes but made with real materials. It was relinquished to the previous owner, who bowed and thoroughly thanked Uranai Baba. The rich woman was close to skipping away in her joy.

When she left, I found myself a little frightened to approach Uranai Baba and hear her news. Tenshinhan saved me by starting forward and beckoned me to follow, which I did. Chouzu hovered beside me, to my left. He looked worried, too, about the answer.

She didn't wait for us to ask the question again. "I spoke with Kushami. She frequents a teahouse that I do a lot of my recruiting for my personal fighting trials."

There was a long pause after this. Maybe she expected us to ask questions, but none of us dared to speak and just waited for her to continue.

"Kushami has a grudge," Uranai Baba said finally, and sounded bored when she said it. "So she's not going to pass on, nor is she going to come back, until the grudge is resolved. You understand now, right? There's nothing for you to do; it's time for you to go home."

Tenshinhan was about to turn away with a thanks and a goodbye, but I stopped him. "Wait! Is that what she said? That she didn't want to come back? I can't believe that!" My vision started blurring again.

But Uranai Baba laughed. "Her exact words were, 'I'm not finished yet, and when I do finish, those idiots don't have to worry about me anymore.' And she's right. You don't have to worry. You don't have to gather the dragonballs or do anything like that. So put it out of your minds and go home! There's nothing left for you to do here." She turned and floated away on her crystal ball. "That is what my fortune-telling skills show, and that's all I have to say."

"B-but…" I think the tears were pouring out now, because I could see normally again. Chouzu came up beside me. He was crying, too.

"W-we should go home, Lunch-san."

So we did. Tenshinhan drove again, I guess because he couldn't imagine me driving very well while I'm being emotional. He'd be right, anyway; tears kept blurring my vision, so I could hardly see what was in of me. Maybe I just had to get it into my head that Kushami was gone, but it didn't seem possible. My whole life felt blurry now. Even with Tenshinhan there, everything seemed blurry.

* * *

Houshi – A Buddhist priest.  
Still updating a chapter of something every week on Friday. The updated ones on this schedule have been this story, Familiar (Dragonlance), and Under the High Peaked Roof (Naruto). There's also very likely going to be a one-shot appearing (I might as well tell you; its going to be in Naruto again). See you kiddies… next week maybe?


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